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/OLUME11 NUMBER 10 OCTOBER 1985 $2.95 

Creative 



THE # 1 MAGAZINE OF M COMPUTER APPLICATI 



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I The Most 

iron 

IM-DEPTH 
EVALUATIONS: 

Kuypro 2000 

Bondwell 2 

Toshiba P351 

Juki 2000 

Lotus Jazz 

True Basic 

Discovery Soft wa 
Supercomputers 

Come Of Age 

Using Spreadsh 
In The Classroom 

Programs That 
Understand 
Language 

Graphing F-— *•*'"»* 
WithLoc 



'71486 




ClHtOT 

981DO STfri S6089Tw, 

69S2I lIDia-S***************,, 



03405 





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1 Wm\ Ll 


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IIJ(I]I 




HESra 


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rRAN S€T 1000 

CD Hayes* 



Transet 1000: The print buffer; communications .buffet 
port expander; printer sharer and I/O switches All in one. 



Anyone with a personal computer 
and one or more peripherals has 
faced the all-too-familiar dilemma. 
You need your computer to do an 
important job. But you're forced 
to wait for the system to finish one 
job (printing, communicating, what- 
ever) before you can go on to the 
next one. Or you need to stop what 
you're doing to switch cables when 
you want to use another peripheral. 

Wait no more. Now Hayes intro- 
duces an innovative new device that 
lets you perform many jobs— at the 
same time— independent of your 
computer. Transet 1000. It works 
with a wide range of systems and 
configurations. And it allows you 
to continually 
expand your sys- 
tem as your needs 
grow. 

Transet 1000 
frees your com- 
puter from waiting 
on your printer or 
modem— so you 
and your com- 
puter can go on 
to another task. 
It even lets you 
print out documents in pre-set for- 
mats without having to go back into 
your computer. At the same time. 
Transet 1000 can operate unattended 
mailbox communications— 24 hours 
a day— even if your computer 
is turned off. 




Two computers can share one printer with 
Ttanset 1000. Or. you can use Ttanset 1000 to let 
two computers communicate with each other. 



Even while printing. TYanset 1000 acts as a com- 
munications buffer and 24-hour mailbox And I© 
switching lets you route information among 
peripherals, without switching cables 



In addition. TYanset 1000 is a port 
expander and software-controlled 
I/O switcher. Now files can be easily 
directed and redirected to different 
peripherals, without physically 
changing cable connections. 

Transet 1000 
contains a stand- 
alone micropro- 
cessor, and comes 
with 1 2 8K of mem- 
ory. It operates 
with any RS-232C 
interface com- 
puter, and has 
optional accessory 
kits available for 
the IBM PC and PC 
XT. Macintosh and 




Apple lie. Kits contain the necessary 
host cable, a user guide and menu- 
driven software that lets you 
graphically set up or 
customize 
port 



parameters and printing formats. 
Cables available for IBM PC AT other 
computers and peripherals. 

Like all Hayes products.Transet 1000 
combines sophisticated capabilities 
with easy operation, lust as Hayes 
set the standard in personal com- 
puter communications, now Hayes 
is taking the lead in computer task 
management. 

Contact your authorized Hayes 
dealer to see how Transet 1000 can 
help you get a lot more productivity 




Transet 1000 allows printing on both a dot matrix 
printer and letter quality printer, while freeing your 
computer for other tasks. 



out of your computer system— 
without tying up your computer 
or you. 

Hayes Microcomputer 
Products. Inc.. P.O.Box 105203^ 
Atlanta. Georgia 30348 
404/441-1617 





VOLUME 11 


NUMBER 10 


Founder /Editor in Chief : 


David H. Ahl 


Editor: 
Monoging Editor: 


Eli lobeth B. Staples 
Peter Fee 


Associate Editor: 


John J. Anderson 


Technical Editor: 
Assistant Editors: 


Joseph Desposito 
Owen Lin z moyer 
Rust Lock wood 


Reviews Editor: 

Editor -at- Large: 


Pawl Grosjean 
Ken Uston 


Contributing Editors: Edward H. Carlson, 

Joke Commander, Michael Ecker, 

Will Fa .tie, Sheldon leemon, 

Danny Goodman, Stephen B. Gray, 

Glenn Hart, Bill Jocobson, Barry Keating, 

Forrest Mirm III, Ted Nelson, Tim Orvosko, 

Peter Poyock, David Small 


Editorial Assistant: 


Jane) M. Lewis 


Associate Art Directors: 
Typesetting: 


Chris De Mil ia 
Peter K el ley 
Dianna Mizell 


Secretary: 

Photographer: 

Advertising Production 

Monager: 

Editorial Production 
Coordinator: 


Denise Rago 
Jeff Mac Wright 

Lita Franay Oucey 

Eve Hinderer 


ADVERTISING SALES 



Publisher: WilliamS. David 

One Park Avenue, New York. NY. 10016 
(212)503-3026 
Assistant lo the Publisher: Jean Anderson 

Advertising Coordinator: Oesiree Sample 
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C oi>iiii l «/M«rt>i«r«.t/Cilir»lt 

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GA 30366. (404) 4553430 



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President: 

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Kenneth H Koppel 
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Boird Davis 
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Ernest F. Baxter 



Mole, ia! tn this publication may not be reproduced in any form with- 
out permission. Requests for permission should be directed to Jean 
Lamensdort, Ziff-Davis Publ.sh.ng Company, One Park Avenue, 
York, New York 10016. 



CIRCLE 138 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



OCTOBER 1985 




PRODUCT REVIEWS 



Ofi Atari ST /Anderson 

A reborn Atari once again points 
the way to the next generation 



34 Kaypro 2000/Desposilo 
An MS-DOS portable with 
pizzazz 



33 Bondwell 2/Desposito 

Spectravideo rebounds with a 
disk- based portable for 
under $1000 

49 Print About Printer*/ Linz mayer 
Two alternatives to high priced 
daisywheel printers 



46 Gall That Jan/ Anderson 

Lotus' Mac product is a clinker 



54 True Basic Hart 

The creators of Basic show 
the way 



FEATURES 



<les 



fi0 Discovery Software /Staph 

World Book makes a big splash in 
the educational software pool 



62 Software Commentary Staff 

Graphs, education, and speech 
synthesis software 



20 Megabucks for Megaflops//. we/ 
Uncle Sam boosts the 
supercomputer market 



7Q Local Area Networks /Lock wood 
Tying computers together: The 
productivity connection 



34 What's New/Lockwood 
The latest in hardware and 
software 



92 Programs That Understand 
Language/ Wright 
How they do it— syntax-directed 
methods 

APPLICATIONS 

33 Spreadsheets In The 

Classroom /Spero 
Using Supercalc to teach 
algorithms in mathematics 



QO LogoType /Lu</wig 

Graphing functions with Logo 

■1 QC Coconuts of 

Diophmntw/ Patterson 

A computer solution to a classic 

problem 



CfM//wO)»i ? r.(.»»(ISSN0097-«l40)BpublBhe<lnK»ilhly»lM<iOWilshircBlvd..U»Angcta.CA 0S ^9/BPA 
900IObyAhlComrHiting.lnc.asubsidiaryofZiiT-DavisPublishingCompany David Ahl. President; IUIIJ \f -Jlr 

Elizabeth Staples. Vice President; Selwyn Taubman. Treasurer; Bertram A Abrams. Secretary ••sssssssw 
39 East Hanover Ave . Morris Plains. N J 07950. Second Class Postage paid at Los A nicies. CA 90052 and additional mailing offices 
Copyright • 1985 by Ahl Computing. Inc All rights reserved. 

Editorial asatcrial, including artKle submissions, press releases, and products for evaluation should be sent to Creative Computing. 
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POSTMASTER Send address changes to Creative Computing. P.O. Bos 52 1 4. Boulder. CO 8032 1 . Please allow at least eight weeks 
for change of address Call (30J1 447-9330 loorder a subscription 



DEPARTMENTS 



4 Notices// 7 *?*? 

5 I nput /Output Readers 



6 Industry Insider /Staples 

A new look for NCC; a peachy 
future for Apple? 



3 Recreational Computing lEcker 
More on n-persistent numbers 



■\ Teletalk/5an<//t?r 

Telex is not dead 



1 6 Book Re\ie*/s/Lockwood 



43 Apple Cart Anderson 

The matter of and with Macintosh 



■1 Q2 Creative Computing Marketplace 

Products and services for your 
every computer need 

-1 Q3 Tandy Gnun/Juge 

News from the top: What's going 
on at Tandy 



"| "J Commodore's Port/Leemon 

Auto boot and redefined function 
keys for the CI 28 

112 0u, P° s,: Atari/ Whitsell 

Font upgrade revisited: full 
screen graphics in Mode 7+ 

1 -| 4 IBM Images/fav/if 

Microsoft Windows: Better than 
the competition 

Cover photograph by Jeff Mat-Wright. Airbrush 
by Stacey Rogers. 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 3 



* 






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1200 Rt. 7. Latham, NY 12110 
CIRCLE 103 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



NOTICES 



Re: Software Digest 

Observant readers may have no- 
ticed a change in the name of our new 
software review section from Software 
Digest to Software Commentary. By 
way of explanation we can only say, "We 
goofed, and we're sorry." The name 
Software Digest was already taken. 

Software Digest is an independent 
software testing company, which pub- 
lishes the Software Digest Ratings News- 
letter. The news- 



2.5 




letter, which is ac- 
tually a hefty mag- 
azine, contains no 
advertising and is 
published ten times 
a year. It is design- 
ed to provide re- 
liable, comparative 
information on 
current software 
products for micro- 
computers. 

Each issue includes a compatibility 
chart, an overview of the software cate- 
gory under discussion in the issue, 
comparison charts, a specifications and 
features chart, individual program re- 
ports, and benchmark test results. 
Write-ups of individual programs in- 
clude specifications, screen photos, re- 
sults of numerous benchmark tests, an 
evaluative "report card," and a list of 
strengths and limitations. 

For more information, readers can 
write: Software Digest, One Winding 
Dr., Philadelphia, PA 19131, or call: 
(215)878-9300. 



7th National Educational 
Computing Conference 

The 7th National Educational 
Computing Conference (NECC '86), 
hosted by the University of San Diego, 
will be held June 4-6, 1986. 

Original papers are solicited from 
all academic disciplines and research ar- 
eas in educational computing. Of 
particular interest are papers and 
projects prepared by students at the 
secondary, undergraduate, and gradu- 
ate levels. 

Authors should submit an original 
manuscript and four copies by Novem- 
ber 1, 1985 to: NECC "86, University of 
San Diego, School of Education, Alcala 
Park, San Diego, CA 92 1 10. 



Corrections 

In "Graphics Fireworks," the cover 
story of our July 1985 issue, one of the 
illustrative photo- 
graphs was incorrect- 
ly credited. The design 
of the skeletal struc- 
ture of a hand, featur- 
ed at the bottom of 
pages 62-63, was cre- 
ated by Susan Arno 
of Elmhurst, IL. 




In our August review of Paperback 
Software's Executive Filer (page 73), we 
listed the price as $69.95. The correct 
price is $49.95. 

A line was omitted from the TRS-80 
Model III program listing for "Legible 
Listings" (August, page 87). The final 
line: 
259 LPRINTP«:LC»LC+1 : RETURN 



INPUT/OUTPUT 



Bug in ROM Affects 
Sanyo Compatibility 

Dear Editor: 

Thank you for publishing your re- 
view of the Sanyo MBC-775 in the July 
issue of Creative Computing. I feel that 
Mr. Lockwood tried to be fair and had 
many complimentary things to say 
about our computer. However, I must 
take exception to his comments in regard 
to software compatibility with the IBM 
PC. 

Mr. Lockwood stated that 50% of 
the programs he tried did not work on 
the MBC-775. I am completely baffled 
by this statement. Our computer runs 
practically all of the IBM software, 
including Symphony. Framework, dBase 
III. Lotus 1-2-3, and, last but not least, 
Flight Simulator. In fact, the only soft- 
ware we have found not to run are pro- 
grams that directly address the 
computer's hardware and depend upon 
the 4.77 MHz clock speed of the IBM. 
Most of the software that falls into this 
category are programs designed to de- 
feat copy protection and operating sys- 
tems other than MS-DOS. 

It is true that the software bundled 
with the MBC-775 consists of the same 
packages that come with the MBC-555 
series. While the company that made the 
software wrote special versions for the 
MBC-555, we are using the IBM PC ver- 
sions for the portable computer. In fact, 
much of the software for the MBC-555 
series (especially graphics software) will 
not run on the MBC-775, just as it will 
not run on the IBM PC. 

I hope this clears up the issue of 
MBC-775 software compatibility. While 



Sanyo Business Systems Corporation 
never claimed IBM compatibility with 
the MBC-550 series, we certainly pride 
ourselves on a truly compatible portable 
color computer in the MBC-775. 

Mark M. Zeiger 

Research & Development Mgr. 

Computer Division 

Sanyo 

51 Joseph St. 

Moonachie,NJ 07074 

The machine we reviewed was one of 
the first MBC- 775soffthe line. According 
to Sandy Waters, marketing manager for 
the Sanyo Computer Division, "a couple 
thousand" early models had a bug in the 
ROM. Hence, some software, notably our 
Flight Simulator, did not run on the 775. 
Waters reports that this problem has been 
corrected and all the early models have 
been retrofitted with newR OM chips. 

As for the bundled software, the 
packages appeared to be recycled MBC- 
555 programs, but are indeed completely 
different. We stand corrected on the 555 
to 775 translation. 

Waters adds that the 43. 1 lbs. is the 
shipping weight. The actual carrying 
weight is 36 pounds — still heavy, but bet- 
ter. Waters notes that the MBC-675. a 
$1 799 IBM PC compatible transportable 
with 256K RAM, two floppy drives, and 
built-in 7" monochrome monitor, weighs 
24 pounds. 

Finally, an enhanced MBC-775, 
called the 775E, includes a heavy duty 
power supply, a 20Mb or 40Mb hard disk 
drive, and an external switch to operate 
the machine at 4. 77 MHz (like the IBM 
PC) or the faster 8 MHz speed. —RL 



Davidson is 

% % % a 1 

in Education 



For math, speed reading, spelling and vocabulary. 
Davidson's award winning software outsells al others. 
Why? Because enough people choose to buy the 
educational software that works . 

MATH BLASTER makes it more fun to add. 
subtract multiply, divide, and team fractions, decimals 
_^______^ and percents. First through sixth 

^#^.v graders master 600 math facts with 

2*yP^ exciting graphics, animation, sound 

^ v effects... even an arcade game. 

.^^ Apple™. Macintosh™. IBM™. 
S^M Commodore 64/128™. Atari™. 49.95. 

SPEED READER D can quadruple your reading 

speed and improve your comprehension. Develop 

good reading habits, chart your 

4&P progress, and have fun! For high 

^r school age through adult Apple 

* II™. Macintosh™. IBM™. 

' JM Commodore 64/128™. 69.95 



WORD ATTACK lets students ten through adult 
discover the meanings and usages of 675 new words. 

— Includes a fun. fast-action arcade 

^fi^> game and add-your-own words 

ifr editor. Apple™. IBM™. Commodore 

64/128™. Atari™. 49.95 




SPELL IT teaches ten year olds and older how to 
spell a thousand and one of our most commonly 

misspelled words. Vivid graphics, 
animation, sound effects, a lively 
arcade game and add yourown 
words editor, too! Apple™. IBM™. 
Commodore 64/128™. Atari™. 49.95 



^ 



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Davidson & Associates, Inc. 

800-55&6141 

(In Caff.. 21*5344070) 



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& Associates, lac. 



NE A 



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Name 

Address 



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CIRCLE 110 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



INDUSTRY 



Betsy Staples 

Shift in Emphasis at NCC 




The National Computer 
Conference, long a bastion of 
big computing and terminal 
stuffiness, had a somewhat 
different look this summer. 
AFIPS, the sponsoring 
organization, faced with a de- 
cline in number of exhibitors 
and several consecutive years 
of slackened attendance (we 
first assumed slackened 
attendance in 1983 when 
AFIPS abruptly instituted a 
policy of refusing to reveal 
attendance figures), appears 
to have softened its hard line 




trade-only approach to the 
show. Observers report that 
show organizers all but 
dumped free tickets on down- 
town Chicago and environs 
from low-flying aircraft. 

Those end users who did 
attend were rewarded with 
exhibits featuring more than 
the usual number of personal 
computers and compatible 
peripherals. Despite the fact 
that Apple, DEC, and Wang 
Labs all failed to exhibit, a 
situation of which much was 
made in the general press, 
many companies were show- 
ing significant new products. 

Among the most excit- 
ing of the announcements for 
personal computers users was 
the Sharp PC-7000, a com- 

Random Bits 

Ashton-Tate, maker of 
the dBase family of database 
software, has announced its 
intention to purchase Multi- 
mate International, maker of 
the popular M ultimate word 
processor for a whopping $ 1 9 
million. Ashton-Tate also an- 
nounced an increase of 1 14% 
in net revenues for the 



pact (19 lbs.) transportable 
MS-DOS computer with a 
very small footprint. It fea- 
tures a 25-line by 80-charac- 
ter LCD, backlighted with an 
electroluminescent panel; 
320K of memory, and two 
5.25* disk drives. Priced at 
less than $2000, the machine 
should have a rosy future in 
the clone market. 

Panasonic also unveiled 
a transportable — the Exec- 
utive Partner. Quite a bit 
heavier (28 lbs.) than the 
Sharp machine, this one fea- 
tures a compact plasma 
display. 

On the software side, 
Addison-Wesley was dem- 
onstrating the long-awaited 
microcomputer version of 
Tex, Donald Knuth's word 
processor designed especially 
for scientific and mathemat- 
ical work. Micro Tex, as the 
package is called, can also be 
used with the original main- 
frame version. 

Softstyle of Honolulu, 
HI, was snowing Decision- 
map, a graphics based de- 
cision modeling software 
package for the Macintosh 
that allows the user to explore 
the effects of giving different 
weights to decision factors. 
He can create a detailed 
"map" diagram of these fac- 
tors, rank alternatives for 
each, and instantly see the re- 
sults on the screen. Softstyle 
also announced a product 
that allows color printing us- 
ing the Macintosh and an 
NEC color printer. 



Apple, AST May Join 

In what may be the first 
evidence of its recently an- 
nounced commitment to 
open architecture for the 
Macintosh, Apple Computer 
is reported to be discussing 
with AST Research of Irvine, 
CA, an arrangement whereby 
the computer company 
would resell an as-yet-un- 
announced file server and 
backup tape drives for the 
Mac. According to the Com- 
puter Industry Daily, a sister 
Ziff-Davis publication, the 
talks involve a 20Mb tape 
backup system using PC 1000 
tape cartridges. The file 
server offers 80Mb of storage 



Forces 

and a 60Mb tape backup. 

An AST spokesman told 
CID that if no agreement is 
reached with Apple, AST will 
market both products on its 
own. 

AST Research, a leading 
supplier of add-on boards for 
the IBM PC, has recently be- 
gun to broaden its marketing 
focus with the introduction of 
add-on I/O boards, a disk- 
tape subsystem for the Apple 
He, and a semiconductor 
memory add-on for the ill- 
fated Lisa/Macintosh XL. 
Could it be that AST has 
glimpsed the handwriting on 
the wall and it is not all blue? 



Apple is Top Choice 

According to Future 
Computing, a market re- 
search firm specializing in the 
personal computer industry, 
the future is multicolored for 
most of the consumers plan- 
ning to buy a computer for 
home use in the next year. 

Among prospective buy- 
ers, 32% of those surveyed in- 
dicated that they plan to buy 
an Apple model, and 26%, an 
IBM model. This is a dra- 
matic difference from the 
brand share standings in the 
current installed base; only 
16% of current personal 
computer owners have Ap- 
ples, and only 8% have IBMs. 

As for other brands, 
Commodore computers are 
currently owned by 30% of 
the consumers surveyed, but 
only 24% of prospective buy- 




ers indicated plans to pur- 
chase Commodores next 
year. Tandy and Atari mod- 
elsare owned by 10% of those 
surveyed. Three percent of 
prospective buyers said they 
planned to purchase a Tandy, 
and 2%, an Atari. 

In interpreting the sur- 
vey, Future Computing says 
that "Consumers are shifting 
away from the low-end game 
machines to the higher 
priced, higher capability per- 
sonal computers." 



first quarter of fiscal 
1986 . . . ACT, the U.K. 
manufacturer of the Apricot 
line of microcomputers has 
announced an increase of 
129% in annual pretax prof- 
its over last year. 

Alphacom of Sunnyvale, 
CA, a manufacturer of low- 
end printers, has run out of 
ribbon and is attempting to 
reach a settlement with Bank 



of America, a secured 
creditor. 

Of the 72,651 patents is- 
sued by the United States in 
1984, 40% were granted to 
residents of other countries. 
Sixteen percent were granted 
to Japanese citizens. 

Hayes Microcomputer 
Products has voluntarily 
withdrawn its action against 
General DataComm in 



which it alleged that a Gen- 
eral DataComm ad contained 
false statements comparing a 
General DataComm modem 
with the competitive Hayes 
model . . . Apple Computer 
has won a high court judg- 
ment against Pineapple Com- 
puter Products of Hong 
Kong, a distributor charged 
with selling Apple look- 
alikes. ■ 



6 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 




$699 Computer 
Breakthrough 

IBM compatible computer with 128K memory 
and two disk drives is more than a bargain. 



It's a new concept. And if my hunches 
are correct, the new Visual Commuter 
will take years for others to copy. 

By Joseph Sugarman, President 

First, it is a tremendous bargain. At $699 
nothing even comes near. Secondly, it's power- 
ful. You get 1 28K memory that's expandable 
to 51 2K. And finally, it's totally IBM compati- 
ble. It will even run the Flight Simulator program 
and Lotus Symphony!" But there's more. 

The unit can be used as a stand-alone office 
com puter as shown above or it can be packed 
up and used as a portable— but without all the 
weight. There's an optional 16-line x 80 
character LCD display that popsupto replace 
theheavyCRT monitor. Unlike the smaller por- 
table computer keyboards, the Commuter 
keyboard is a full-size replica of the IBM with 
itsten function keysand numeric key pad. And 
the Commuter uses 5V* " disks so you have full 
access to all the popular IBM software. 

It's lighter (only 1 8 lbs), flatter (only 3V2" thick) 
and carries like a briefcase. In short, the Visual 
Commuter is a combination of all the good 
features of a portable computer (size, weight, 
portability), all the good features of a traditional 
desktop computer (full-size keyboard, SV*" 
disks, full power) and none of the disadvan- 
tages of either. 

USE IBM PROGRAMS 

Even if you have another computer but miss 
some of the IBM programs, for only $699 and 
an IBM compatible monitor, you've gotacom- 
plete MS/DOS system. 

It was also made modular so you can select 
just those components that you need for your 
particular application. For example, you may 
not need the 1 6 line x 80 column LCD display 
which adds 2 lbs to the unit's weight (a blank 
lid comes with the unit). Or you may not need 
a monitor because your other computer may 
already have one. But you may want more 
power— 256K or 51 2K— so you order just what 
you need. 

For all you technical people, listen to these 
specs. There'sa 1 6-bit 8088 processor, 1 28K 
memory with parity, parallel printer port, serial 
ASYNC RS 232C port, Din connector RF 
modulator or composite video output for TV and 
composite video input monitors, RGB/direct 
drive output for high resolution monochrome 
or color monitors, IBM compatible color 
graphic support, support logic for 80x25 or 
40x25 character display and LCD display, con- 
nector to IBM expansion unit, disk controller 



A /( carries like 
a briefcase. 

B With LCD 
lid open. 



The Visual Commuter 
sells for only $699 
The IBM mono- 
chrome monitor 
is optional 

supporting two5 1 /i" disk drives, ANSI standard 
ROM-based terminal emulation, and ROM- 
based extended diagnostics. The dual disk 
drives are double sided-double density (360 
Kbytes). TheCornmuterrunsatthesameclock 
speed as the IBM PC (4.77 MHz) but because 
of its new design, it runs between 8 to 1 per- 
cent faster. 

ATTRACTIVE CASE 

There's an attractive carrying case made by 
American Tourister that holds your software, 
your power cord, your documents and even 
our optional 1 200 baud modem. Thecompati- 
ble Maxwell modem lets you communicate with 
other data banks. Made by the world ' s largest 
modem manufacturer, Racal-Vadic, it is nor- 
mally a $500 value but our price is only $249 
which includes a complete communications 
software package. There's also a toll free, on- 
line warranty service and a customer hotline 
to answer any of your technical questions. 

You may have recently heard of Visual 
Technology Incorporated. They are innovators 
in the design and manufacture of smart 
alphanumeric terminals and some of the finest 
graphic terminals in the country. 

The Visual Commuter was scheduled to sell 
for over $2500 with the LCD display. And even 
at that price, when compared to the IBM 
system, it was a good value. But JS&A and 
Visual (in a joint venture with SGD Holding 
Corp.) saw the opportunity of having just one 
customer. Together, bysellingdirectlytoyou, 
we've eliminated the distributors, dealers and 
all the sales, administration and advertising 
costs and have passed the savings on to you 
But there are a few catches. 

JUST A FEW THOUGH 

Once we install the memory, you'll have to 
send the unit back to usto add more memory. 
So we ask that you estimate, in advance, the 
maximum power that you'll require for your 
needs. 1 28K memory is plenty for most applica- 
tions but if you want to run Lotus Symphony, 
you'll need aJI512K. Secondly, weask that you 
pay by check or money order. COD's and 
credit cardscost us too much to be able to pro- 
vide this kind of value. And finally, we ask that 
you act quickly. Although we have most of the 
product in stock right now, there's always the 
chance that we'll run out. 

The Visual Commuter measures only 3Vi x 
15V2 x 18" wide and comes complete with 
power cord (it only operates on standard AC 
current), the operating system (Micro-Soft's 
MS/DOS ver. 2.1) complete with basic and 
utilities, two beautifully written manuals, lid 




(without LCD display) and a limited 90-day war- 
ranty. There are service centers th roughout the 
United States set up to service the unit in addi- 
tion to the service-by-mail facility at Visual's 
home office near Boston. 

I urge you togive the Visual Commuter a test. 
Order one from JS&A and use it for 30 days 
without risk. Plug in your IBM monitor and load 
any of the IBM software you currently have. See 
how the large keyboard matches the IBM 
perfectly and how its handle makes a perfect 
hand rest while typing or a comfortable han- 
dle for carrying the unit. See how convenient 
the unit is to take home or bring with you on a 
trip with its fold open LCD monitor. If you don't 
feel that the Visual Commuter is more than you 
expected , pack it up and ship it back within 30 
days for a prompt and courteous refund in- 
cluding postage. You can't lose. 

PERSONALLY USED 

I have personally used the Visual Commuter. 
I have taken it with me on trips, set it up as a 
stand alone by plugging in my IBM monitor. 
I have run everything from Symphony™ to 
Wordstar*— from 1-2-3* tothe Flight Simulator 
program. I strongly recommend the system. 
To order, send your check or money order to 
the address below listing the items and order 
numbers(shown in parentheses). Thankstothe 
latest in technology and a direct-to-consumer 
marketing program, this system can be yours 
at a tremendous value. Order yourVisual Com- 
muter at no obligation, today. 
Visual Commuter with 2 Disk Drives 

and 128K Memory (6105) $699 

16 x 80 LCD Alphanumeric 

Display (6106) 399 

IBM 12" Green Monitor (6107) 229 

Our 12" Amber Monitor (6108) 139 

Our 12" Green Monitor (6109) 139 

Expansion to 256K (61 10) 199 

Expansion to 512K (61 11) 399 

Maxwell 1200 Baud Modem (61 12) 249 

Carrying Case (61 13) 99 

Add $25 postage and handling per system. 
IBM is a Trademark of International Business 
Machines Corporation. 

CIRCLE 117 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

^W^SnT^XTH I N K» 

SEND ORDERS TO: 

Dept.CC.One JS&A Plaza 

Northbrook, Illinois 60062 

(312)564-7000 

IL residents add 7% sales ia« ©JS&A Group, Inc .1965 



RECREATIONAL COMPUTING 



More on N-Persistence /Michael W. Ecker 



In this column last time, we looked at a 
number that I pulled out of thin air and 
which had the property of being 16- 
persistent: That is, the number times any 
one of I, 2, 3, . . . , 15, 16 always pro- 
duced an answer that contained at least 
one of each digit. Where did I get this 
number from? Does it have any special 
significance, or is it just something con- 
trived, found by trial-and-error and 
lacking in richness? 

It would be unreasonable to expect 
me to foist a contrivance on you, right? 
So, you can believe that there is some 
significance to such numbers. Even if 
you have seen many math recreations, I 
doubt that you will find this concept in 
any text. That is because I myself created 
the concept of n-persistent number a 
couple of years ago. Moreover, I showed 
the interesting connection of this con- 
cept to one which has been around a 
while longer. And that is the topic of this 
month's investigation. 

Not to keep you in the dark any 
longer, the number 5882352941 176470 
comes from the repetend — or smallest 
repeating block — in the division of 1 by 
17, as 1/17 = .05882352941 17647 
0588235294117647 058823529411 
7647 ... ad infinitum, where the repe- 
tend has a length of 16 — meaning the 
digits repeat precisely every 16 digits. 
(First 1 6-persistence and now a length of 
16; interesting, eh?) The only difference 
is that I put the leading zero at the tail of 
our integer, since we don't count leading 
zeros in whole numbers, as in 34, not 
034. (If you prefer, you can note that 
10/17 would produce our 16-persistent 
number with the zero intact.) Note that 
I'm not saying that this is the only way to 
produce any n-persistence. I do main- 
tain, however, that it is certainly the 
most elegant. 

So now I have replaced one mystery 
with a bigger one. What does this have to 
do with producing n-persistent numbers 
in general, and why does this work? It 
would be a lot easier if I could work with 
smaller numbers just to illustrate the 
point. Momentarily ignore the question 
of n-persistence and consider the repe- 
tend corresponding to 1/7. Division pro- 
duces 1/7 = .142857 142857 142857 
... ad infinitum. A more familiar exam- 
ple to readers would be 1/3 = .3 3 
3 ... ad infinitum, or even 1/5 = .2 

Dr. Michael W. Ecker it Associate Professor of 
Mathematics and Computer Science at the University 
of Scranton in Scranton, PA 



Listing 1. 



10 CLS: PRINT "Calculate Repeating Decimals": PRINT 
20 INPUT "Numerator" ;N 

INPUT "Denominator" ; D 

IF N>-D THEN PRINT "Please use Num < Denom" : GOTO 20 
50 PRINT: PRINT N;"/";D;" -" : PRINT: PRINT " . " ; 
60 N-IN-D'AIMO: ' New numerator for next stage In division 
70 A«INT(N/D): ' This Is a digit obtained in the repetend 
80 PRINT A; 

90 C0UNT-C0UNT+1: IF C0UNKD-1 THEN 60 ELSE PRINT "etc." 
100 PRINT: INPUT "Another" ;XS : IF X$-"Y" THEN RUN 20 ELSE END 



30 
40 



somptenin. 



Calculate Repeating Decimals 

Numerator? 1 
Denominator? 7 



1 / 7 
1 4 



8 



7 etc. 



Another? Y 
Numerator? 1 
Denominator? 17 

1 / 17 - 

.05882 

Another? 



7 etc. 



. . . etc., where I have added the zeros 
for emphasis. 

Realize that no repetend in the di- 
vision of 1 by p can contain more than p- 
1 digits in the repetend. In the case of 7, 
we are saying that the repetend could not 
have had more than six digits; in the case 
of 5, at most four digits. Why is this? Sim- 
ple. When you divide 1 by p, once the dig- 
its start repeating, there are only p 
possible remainders in the actual di- 
vision, namely 0, 1, 2, ... up to p-1. If 
the remainder is ever 0, as soon happens 
with the division of 1 by 5, then the di- 
vision terminates and we get a terminat- 
ing decimal, or we car say the repetend 
is 0. Otherwise, we only get p-1 
remainders. 

Within p-1 steps, any remainder 
must repeat, which then makes the digits 
of the decimal quotient repeat within a 
block of at most p- 1 digits. In the limited 
space available here it is difficult to ex- 
plain this. I explained this phenom- 
enon — along with some other neat prop- 
erties — in a lengthier discovery and 
expository article "The Alluring Lore of 
Cyclic Numbers" several years ago in 
the College Mathematics Journal. Read- 
ers who don't wish to hunt this down in a 
math library can send me a self-ad- 
dressed, stamped envelope and a dollar 
(to cover photocopy costs), and I'll send 
a reprint. 



Well, it turns out that whenever the 
prime number p has the property that 
1/p has a repetend with the largest pos- 
sible length, namely p-1, the resulting 
repetend always has an interesting prop- 
erty. That property is that if you take any 

of 1, 2 p-1, and multiply by the 

repetend, you get the same digits in the 
answer but in a different order. 

Consider for example the number 
142857, the repetend ofl/7. We have the 
following: 1x142857 = 142857, 
2x142857 = 285714, 3x142857 = 
428571,4x142857 = 571428, 5x142857. 
= 714258, 6x142857 = 857142, and 
lastly, 7x142857 = 999999. There is a 
delightful trick associated with this, but 
alas, we have no space this month. These 
last multiplications should also remind 
you of last month's program in which 
our special number was 16-persistent, 
but not 17-persistent, since we got a 
whole lot of nines when we multiplied by 
1 7. Here, 7 plays the role of 1 7. As for the 
nines, it has to do with the mathematical 
fact that .9 9 9 9 ... ad infinitum is ex- 
actly equal to 1 — but that in itself is an- 
other story. 

Whenever the reciprocal (1/p) of a 
prime p has a repetend with a full-period, 
we call that prime a full-period prime. 
The first p-1 multiples of that repetend 
always are cyclic permutations of one 
another (barring any missing leading ze- 



8 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



The Self-Reference Challenge 



FOR A-l TO 9: NEXT: A«<1>-" FOR A-l TO ?i NEXT: A«U>-" 

A*<9>-MID*<A*U>,13,3>i A«<2>-' A»<?)-MID«<A*< 1 > , 13,3> i A»<2>-' 

FOR A-l TO ?: A«<3>- " FOR A-l TO ?i A*(3)-" 

PRINT CHR*<A*48);i A»<4)-" PRINT CHR*<A+48> J I A*<4>- 

B»«CHR*<34>: A»(3)-" B«-CHR»<34): A»<3>- - 

PRINT A»<A)i: A«(6)-" PRINT A«<A) | : A*C6>-" 

IF A-? THEN 9 ELSE A*<7>-" IF A-9 THEN 9 ELSE A«(7)-- 

PRINT B»|A*<A)»B*i A«<8)-' PRINT 8*;A*<A);B*i A«<8>«" 

NEXT 

A program that lists precisely itself, submitted by Jerold A. Stahly of Lan- 
caster, PA. Not only does the program meet the condition of the problem better 
(see June 1985 issue), but it seems to be a bit shorter to boot. Note the use of the 
CHR$ function to get around the problem of "line numbers" in the run not begin- 
ning flush left— they do in this program. 



ros). For that reason, such primes are 
also called cyclic primes. To apply this, 
then, to n-persistence, all you need to do 
is find a cyclic prime p which is greater 
than n and 10, take 1/p, and the resulting 
repetend will be a number which is cy- 
clic. It turns out that there is an almost 
uniform distribution of digits in the repe- 
tend, assuring that each digit appears at 
least once. Since the repetend is p-1- 
persistent, and p-1 is at least n, it is, a 



fortiori, n-persistent as well. 

A program to find such repetends 
can be demanding, so I will solicit your 
improvements in a moment. The pro- 
gram here simply simulates the division 
of any numerator by any denominator. It 
is up to you to restrict yourself to using 
prime denominators p; the numerator 
need not be 1. The program prints out 
the first p-1 digits of the quotient. These 
may be manually examined for smaller 



repeating blocks. If you find a smaller 
repeating block, then the number p is not 
a full-period or cyclic prime. If none is 
found, you have one. 

As a final note, I must confess to one 
gap: As of 1 985, it is conjectured, but still 
not proven, that the number of cyclic 
primes is infinite. We all know that the 
number of primes (cyclic or not) is in- 
finite, and there is strong evidence that 
the same is true of full-period ones, but 
there is no proof yet. When that is done, 
we will know that for every n, there exists 
an n-persistent number which we can 
generate in this manner. If it makes you 
feel any better though, other proofs exist 
which do not rely on cyclic primes. How- 
ever, these lack the elegance — and 
fun — of this exploration. 

This column is open to reader 
suggestions, questions of a relevant na- 
ture, improvements, comments, etc. If 
you would like an acknowledgment or 
reply, be sure to enclose a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope. Write me at 129 
Carol Dr., Clarks Summit, PA 1 841 1 . 

Until next month, happy rec- 
reational computing. ■ 




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CIRCLE 128 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 9 



TELETALK 

Bulletin: Telex not dead!/Corey Sandler 



Remember Telex? Sure you do — it 
was that clanky, cranky old teletype 
machine in the shipping depart- 
ment that would rumble to life every 
once in a while and laboriously churn out 
a few pages of orders from Knockemstiff 
(Ohio), Bustard Head (Australia), Flin 
Flon (Manitoba), or other such outposts 
of civilization. 

Truth was you could grow a beard 
watching a Telex machine as it pecked its 
capital letters at SO baud, a rate that can 
be pleasing only to a certified dyslexic. 
That's not a typographical error: 50 
baud, as in one twenty-fourth the speed 
of your basic 1200 baud modem or one 
forty-eighth as fast as the 2400 baud 
models currently filling the shelves. 
That's SO baud, as in about 2 minutes to 
print this column up to this point. 

But the importance of Telex was 
that it served as a 24-hour link between 
nearly anywhere and anyplace, bridging 
continents and time zones. In the days 
before computers and telecommunica- 
tions were envisioned, Telex was the 
cat's pajamas. 

But why concern ourselves with 
Telex today, now that we have world- 
wide telephone service, with such addi- 
tional helpful offerings as electronic mail 
and point-to-point telecommunications 
from desktop microcomputer to micro- 
computer? Well, the truth of the matter 
is that telephone service is not always 
available, and time zone differences may 
make it all but impossible to make direct 
connection. And electronic mail and 
point-to-point telecommunications do 
not yet cross all international borders. 
And finally, there is not yet a micro- 
computer on every desktop, and not all 
of those that are in place are tied into 
telephone lines. 

The fact is that the only fast way to 
reach Knockemstiff, Bustard Head, or 
Flin Flon may well be via a dusty old 
Telex in the back room of the post 
office/general store. 

And so, old clanky, cranky Telex is 
not dead. It is chugging along at its bor- 
ing yet reliable speed in the United 
States, and in some parts of the world, es- 
pecially in lesser developed nations, 
Telex is still growing nicely. 

A Telex True Believer 

"I don't think Telex is dying," says 
Seth Blumenfeld, president of MCI In- 




hy would developing 
countries want to install the 
Telex system? 



ternational. "I think it's certainly a ma- 
ture service as far as the U.S. market is 
concerned. But worldwide, the best 
guess is that Telex is still growing at a low 
double-digit rate." 

Blumenfeld should know, since his 
company has just spent $100 million up- 
grading its facilities, including its West- 
ern Union International subsidiary. 
WUI, its Telex arm purchased in 1 982, is 
not to be confused with Western Union 
Co.'s Telex system, with which it com- 
petes. 

"I'd like to think we don't have our 
heads in the sand," he continued. "The 
U.S. market is flattening out, and we ex- 
pect negative growth soon." 

That flattening market is still a fat 
one, with worldwide revenues estimated 
at about $550 million and U.S. receipts 
of $ 1 50 million, with the largest market 
stream for Telex between Western Eu- 
rope and the U.S. In the U.S. about half a 
dozen carriers — MCI, Western Union, 
ITT, and others — split the domestic 
market; overseas most European coun- 
tries and many other countries have gov- 
ernment monopolies called Postal 
Telegraph and Telephone companies 
running the show. 

"Telex is flourishing in lesser devel- 
oped countries, in places like Latin 



America, the Far East, and the Middle 
East," Blumenfeld said. "In some coun- 
tries they have thousands of customers 
on waiting lists." 

Why would developing countries 
want to install the pokey Telex system 
instead of going all the way and putting 
in state-of-the-art highspeed tele- 
communications networks? 

"You've got to walk before you run. 
You wouldn't go from a bicycle to a 
supersonic jet. Telex is still an excellent 
technology and an excellent service," he 
said. 

Blumenfeld also does not expect the 
U.S. market suddenly to dry up and go 
away. Many thousands of major ac- 
counts require the Telex machines to 
maintain contact with overseas points. 
There are also more than 1 00,000 small- 
er Telex accounts in the U.S., many of 
which are used for domestic point-to- 
point communication. 

"The small Telex subscriber is not 
necessarily inclined to go out and pur- 
chase more costly equipment like per- 
sonal computers," Blumenfeld said. 
"They don't have the volume." 

But, you may ask, what about all of 
this talk about the electronic office, with 
a PC on every desk from the CEO to the 
cleaning woman? 

"We've heard all the noise about the 
office of the future," Blumenfeld told 
me. "I think it's going to happen, but not 
as quickly as many of us in industry 
would have believed. I believe in the of- 
fice of future, but I'm not exactly sure 
how we get there." 

The Slow Boat from London 

But speaking of getting there, it is 
the existing international Telex network 
that provides a desktop link from per- 
sonal computers to the rest of the world. 
I received an important letter from a 
British publisher recently — a letter I had 
been awaiting for a long time. In fact, I 
had all but given them up for dead, since 
it had been three months since we last 
had exchanged letters. But finally, a be- 
draggled package landed on my door- 
step, dated 90 days earlier. I've decided it 
travelled through all of the remnants of 
the British Empire en route, with a four- 
week stopover in Mandalay. 

So I decided to reply more directly. 
That's a lot easier said than done. Have 
you ever figured out the business overlap 



K> CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 




PRINTER 
BARGAIN 

We guarantee that you 'II never find a 
bargain as sensational as the letter- 
quality daisy wheel printer you see 
in this advertisement. 

We covered up the name of the 
printer so as not to embarrass 
the manufacturer. 



I realize that what you are about to 
read may seem incredible. I can un- 
derstand. But occasionally there are in- 
deed bargains and opportunities that 
only come once in a lifetime. I'm con- 
vinced that this Is one of them. 

By Joseph Sugarman, President 
The letter-quality printer you see above has 
a suggested retail price of $1 795. It prints bi- 
directionally at 40 characters per second us- 
ing a daisy wheel print element, comes with a 
parallel interlace and prints a 13.6 inch line. 
A similar printer might be found at some dis- 
count computer dealers for as low as $1 000. 
And at that price it is indeed a bargain. 
AUTOMATIC FEATURES 
If we'd offer it to you at $499— a unit that we 
could be selling for $1 795 and that would be 
a bargain at $1 000— you'd probably thinkthat 
there wasacatch. Butguessagam. Asunusual 
a bargain as this may appear, and despite all 
itsquality features, this printer can be yours for 
the incredible low price of only $499— below 
wholesale, below dealer cost and without ques- 
tion, the lowest priced high-speed letter-quality 
printer sold today. 

JS&A bought out an entire warehouse full of 
these printers, promised that we would not 
displaythe name on theunit.inour photo, men- 
tion the name in our ad nor reveal the name over 
the phone to avoid embarrassing the manufac- 
turer or his dealers. 

I'm so convinced that this is one of the 
greatest values I've ever offered, I am making 
abetandacommitment. First, thecommitment. 
I'm giving you 30 days to test it out. If it's not 
the best printer value in the country, return it 
for a full refund including your $25 postage. 
Finally. I'll bet that you'll immediately 
recognize the name of the billion dollar com- 
pany whose name is on the product or you don't 
deserve to own a computer. The company is 
a successful computer company whose pro- 
ducts you may even now own. They'll back the 
product with service through its90-day limited 
warranty and for yearsto come with hundreds 
of national factory service centers throughout 
the United States. 

EXCEPTIONAL VALUE 
The printer is not an outdated model with old 
technology but a brand new unit with the latest 
electronics and the most advanced technol- 
ogy. For example, there's an automatic print 
pressurecontrol which automatically varies the 
printing pressure according to the shape of the 



character. This single feature produces an in- 
credibly clean impression while prolonging the 
life of the daisy wheel. But there's more. 

An aluminum diecast integral-constructed 
frame gives the printer a solid home for its ad- 
vanced electronics. And with a weight of 30 
pounds, you know there's built-in commercial- 
quality construction. Thecontrolsinclude: 'line 
feed' which advances the carriage by one line, 
page advance' which advances thedocument 
to the next page when using continuous form 
paper and a set page' button that tells the 
printer where the start of the form is located. 
A lighted condition panel tells you the printer 
status with red and green LEDs. You can use 
single sheetsorcontinuousform fan-fold paper 
and with the 'paper out sensor' the printer 
detects the last sheet of the fan fold paper and 
automatically stops. And the printer has a 2K 
buffer memory. 

There are also features that give you enor- 
mous printing flexibility. You can underscore 
words, double print each character which 
creates a bold look or you can use shadow print 
which moves the print head 1/1 20th of an inch 
between strikes. With the proper daisy wheel 
you can also set the printer for proportional prin- 
ting which gives your documents a profes- 
sional—almost printed look. 

SELF-TEST MODE 
There's a self-test mode which lets you print 
out all the characters on your daisy wheel con- 
tinually until you stop. And the system uses stan- 
dard Diablo daisy wheels and ribbons which 
you can get from JS&A or any computer store. 
With the Pica pitch, you can print up to 1 36 
columnsand with the Elite pitch, up to 1 63. The 
15.5" carriage will take a print area of 13.6 in- 
ches. It measures 6 x 16 x 24", comes with a 
1 0-pitch daisy wheel, one ribbon and complete 
instructions. The unit has provisions for a trac- 
tor feed and a sheet feeder which can be pur- 
chased locally or at a discount from JS&A. 

You can select either 1 0, 1 2 or 1 5 for the print 
pitch or even use the 1 0-pitch daisy wheel sup- 
plied with the unit at the 1 2-pitch setting for large 
and tight letter spacing. Therearedipswitches 
which let you customize each printer to any 
computer with a parallel printer interface. Set- 
ting recommendations .ire supplied for IBM, 
Apple and other popular computers. 

What happened? How can JS&A obtain and 
then sell these printers— products that are 
brand new with the latest state-of-the-art 
technology and from a major manufacturer at 
a price that at first is hard to believe? Quite frank- 
ly, it wasn't easy. 
With our low overhead wecan efficiently sell 

CIRCLE 1 18 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



these units in tremendous quantities without the 
high markups that many stores must have to 
make a profit. And we can do this on a mass- 
market national scale. Since many manufac- 
turers know this and know that we could quickly 
move tremendous amounts of merchandise 
without upsetting many of the retailers(because 
we keep the name of the manufacturer con- 
fidential) they are willing to let us buy their pro- 
duct direct, often at foreign, export prices. 

We'll be happy to supply companies with 
several printers for their computer departments 
to upgrade their printing speed and quality. 
There is no limit to the number you can order 
although we only haveafew thousand available 
so we reserve the right to return your order 
should we run out. 

ACT QUICKLY 
Thereare bargainsavailablethat are indeed 
too good to be true and often end up to be much 
less than you expected. But here's an exam- 
ple that is not only too good to be true but that 
we guarantee you'll find better than you ex- 
pected. Order one at no obligation, today. 

Simply send your check or money order us- 
ing the order numbers shown in parentheses 
(IL residents add 7% sales tax) plus $25 for 
postage and handling for each printer ordered 
Credit card buyerscall toll-free number below 
Send your order to: JS&A Special Printer 
Bargain Offer at the address below. 

Printer (6087) $499 

Tractor Feed (6084) 189 

Sheet Feeder (6088) 239 

3-Pack Ribbons (6089) 15 

Daisy Wheels: (List supplied with unit) 
Cables/Interfaces (includes everything you 
need to connect to your computer: 
IBM & Compatibles (25 pin) (6076) 39 

Apple II +/e (6099) 69 

Apple lie (7011) 69 

Commodore VIC-20 C-64 &C-128 (7002) 69 
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TELETALK 



between the U.S. and London? When it 
is9:00a.m. in New York, it is 3:00p.m. in 
England, giving you two hours to track 
someone down. (You can also hope they 
don't try to call you at 9:00 a.m. London 
time — that's 3:00 in the morning in New 
York, midnight in California.) It is 
worse in a connection from the West 
Coast: when you arrive at work at 9:00 
a.m. in San Francisco, the British work 
day has already been over for an hour or 
so. 

The solution I chose was good old 
Telex, using the services of my trusty PC 
and MCI Mail. I sent a Telex one after- 
noon and received my reply when I 
signed on to MCI the next morning. 

All you need is a computer, a 
modem tied into a phone line, a basic 
telecommunications program, and ac- 
cess to one of the services. 

MCI Mail, which has been the most 
aggressive participant in the newly 
emerging electronic mail network in- 
dustry, offers outgoing and incoming 
Telex service from around the world and 
across the United States. To use the ser- 
vice, an MCI registrant merely enters a 
Telex code as the address in the standard 
letter format for that service. 

Telex subscribers worldwide, 
whether or not they are registered for 
MCI Mail, can communicate with you 
by directing their messages to MCI's in- 
coming Telex number. The dispatches 
are placed in your incoming electronic 
mailbox. 

MCI's Telex rates are based on a 
400-character "mini-ounce." Some 
countries have three-ounce minimums. 
For a full listing of area codes and prices 
from Abu Dhabi to Zimbabwe, together 
with instructions on use of MCI Mail for 
Telex messages, contact MCI at 1900 M 
St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036, or 
send them an electronic message at MCI 
Customer Service. MCI will also contact 
as many as ten of your regular Telex 
correspondents for free and provide 
them with instructions on how to reach 
you in the U.S. 

Western Union's EasyLink service 
is close to MCI Mail in range of services, 
including electronic mail. Telex, tele- 
grams, cablegrams, and a business, 
news, and sports database on-line. West- 
ern Union operates one of the largest 
Telex systems in the world — its circuits 
are used by most of its competitors at one 
point or another in communication 
and the company provides its subscrib- 
ers with the phone book-like Western 
Union Telex Directory. Contact West- 
ern Union/Easylink at One Lake St., 
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 




ITT's Worldcom Telex includes ac- 
cess to real time "interactive telex." In 
effect, this allows you to use ITT's facil- 
ities for standard on-line communica- 
tions. Ordinary store and forward Telex 
is available, as is an electronic mailbox 
for incoming messages. For information 
contact ITT World Communications, 
Sales Department, 100 Plaza Dr., 
Secaucus, NJ 07096. 

RCA Global Communications of- 
fers the same range of services, and the 
company can be reached at 201 Centen- 
nial Ave., Box KC-8, Piscataway, NJ 
08854. 

Almost all of these services will 
work well with standard PC tele- 
communications software, and at stan- 
dard 300 and 1200 baud communication 
rates, with 2400 baud coming on line 
here and there. You can, in most in- 
stances, compose your message directly 
on screen and then send it, or you can 
prepare it earlier with a standard word 
processor and then upload it once you 
are signed onto the service. EasyLink is 
offering a specialized communications 
package called Easy Link Mail Man- 
ager. This PC software includes a word 
processor, telecommunications link, and 
automatic sign-on procedure for that 
service. MCI has just introduced a new 
software product called Comdesk 
specialized for Telex purposes. 

The Togetherness of the 
Long-Distance Runner 

But the tides of change don't merely 
run from the highspeed computer to the 
Telex machine. Now the world traveler 
need not leave home without his stock- 
broker or his daily newspaper. 

MCI International introduced a 
few months back a link from the 2.5 mil- 
lion Telex machines around the world to 
an online stock transaction and informa- 
tion service. The new product, called In- 
sight, allows worldwide Telex sub- 
scribers to obtain stock market 
quotations, interest rates, and other 
information, and to execute trades 
through a discount brokerage firm. Also 
included in the service are AP and UPI 
news tickers as well as specialized finan- 
cial information including commodities 
trades, livestock prices, interest rate 
information, gold and metal prices. 

According to MCI's Blumenfeld, 
principal users of the system will include 
foreign individuals and companies 
engaging in transactions on American 
and other major international foreign 
financial markets and exchanges, as well 
as traveling business people. U.S. Telex 
subscribers can also sign on directly to 



e apricot Fl. 

Successful businesspeople can spot a good deal when 
they see one. And at $995? the new Apricot Fl business 
computer is one of the best deals around. 

It comes with the popular MS-DOS operating system, 
an infra-red mouse, and the new GEM Collection- soft- 
ware that makes computing a snap. Just point and click! 

You can easily run thousands of industry-standard, 
off-the-shelf business programs. Like Lotus 1-2-3." 
pfs:range.' dBase.' MS-word" and Multiplan.' WordStar." 
And SuperCalc: Plus virtually any kind of vertical market 
applicaUon. From accounting to zoology. 

Add to that 512K of memory. A 720K 3W disk dnve. 
Color. And high-speed networking capability. 

All in all, you can't find a better business computer for 
the price. Anywhere. 

The Fl is part of the Apricot Collection of powerful 
and innovative business computers known worldwide for 
their outstanding value and reliability. 

Since Apricots are in season year-round, why not 
sample one today. It'll leave a good taste in your mouth. 
And money in your pocket. <M ^ K M ™ 



IMiMIMMIM hi-+*noi" 




©apricot 

-*- Europe^ Most Successful 
Business Computers. 

800-228-3926 (In California, 800-458-3366) 

Apricot Inc.. 47173 Benicia Street. Fremont. CA 94538. 

Tel: (415)659-8500 Telex: 350585. Fax: (415)659-1249. 

* N«5 Apricot. Inc 'Monitor not included OEM is a registered trademark of Digital Research. Inc 

CIRCLE 101 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



TELETALK 



the system. There will be no charge for 
retrieval of the information in the data- 
base, with users paying only ordinary 
Telex communications charges. MCI 
would make its profit from those 
charges. Typical international rates are 
about $ 1 per minute, he said. 

The Insight package, however, will 
be available through any Telex provider. 
And, travelling Americans can make use 
of the Telex booths that are fairly com- 
mon in European airports and other 
public locations. 

RCA Globcom has a system called 
FY I News Service that provides news, 
financial information, sports, weather, 
and other data for overseas subscribers 
all for the cost of a Telex link to the U.S. 

The Direct Link to Come 

It should be obvious to the PC user 
that even with the advances in Telex, the 
faster and simpler route would be the 
extension of electronic mail service 
across international borders. The U.S. 
providers, MCI Mail among them, are 
trying to do just that, although miles of 
red tape still block the way. ITT has 
made some headway with its Dialcom 
service, which allows limited inter- 
national mailbox service. 

MCI Mail has a laser printing site in 
Belgium that is used to produce paper 
copies of electronic messages, which are 
then placed into the European mails for 
delivery. 

Sooner or later, the Global Village 
will be truly electronic. Next we'll have 
to figure out something to say. ■ 




"The guy in the movie gets to play thermo- 
nuclear war '. All I ever tap into is Acme 
Plumbing. " 



FOR THE 

AATARr 

CENTER NEAREST YOU 

PLEASE CALL OUR 

SALES OFFICE IN 

YOUR AREA 



New England 

Bellavance. Fassler. larrobino. Inc 

Needham, Maine 

617-449-3910 

Upstate New York 

Seeber Sales Corp 

Latham. New York 

518 7854523 

Metro New York. North New Jersey 

The Spieler-Weiss Group. Ltd 

Spring Valley. New York 

914 352 2502 

South New Jersey. 
East Pennsylvania. Delaware 

R K Marketing 

Havertown. Pennsylvania 

215-446-6400 

Maryland, Washington. Virginia 

Alexander & Samet 

Rockville. Maryland 

301-251 9300 

South Nevada. Arizona. 
New Mexico. El Paso 

Mountain Micro Markets 

Scottsdale. Arizona 

602 998 4357 

Washington, Oregon 

Barnsley-Weis Associates 

Yakima. Washington 

509-248-7250 

No. California, No. Nevada 

New-West Companies 

Mountain View. California 

415940-6033 

Southern California 

Tri West Marketing. Inc 

Culver City. California 

213 390 8591 



Tennessee. Georgia. Alabama. 
Mississippi. No. & So. Carolina 

John Lee Company. Inc 

Nashville. Tennessee 

615-321 5012 

Florida 

Intratec Technology Rep s Inc 

Boca Raton. Florida 

305 393 1925 

W. Pennsylvania. W. Virginia, 
Ohio. Kentucky 

Incom Marketing. Inc 

Columbus. Ohio 

614 451-5146 

Minnesota. North Wisconsin. 
North Dakota. South Dakota 

Continental Merchandisers. Inc 

St Paul. Minnesota 

612 6456441 

South Wisconsin. North Illinois. 
Michigan. Indiana 

Hawthorn Marketing. Inc 

Bullalo Grove. Illinois 

312 541 8846 

Missouri. Kansas. S. Illinois. 
Nebraska. Iowa 

Sound Marketing Associates 

St Louis. Missouri 

314 644 2400 

Texas. Oklahoma. Arkansas. 

Louisiana. Mississippi 

Miller & Associates 

Richardson. Texas 

214-4375733 

Utah. Idaho. Colorado 
Wyoming. Montana. Alaska 

Schreyer Associates. Inc 

Salt Lake City. Utah 

801 483 1331 



Hawaii 

SCS Co . Inc 

Honolulu. Hawaii 

808 8459937 



AATARI 

Power Without the Price 



14 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Apple Mac 512" 



IBMPCAT" 



Commodore Amiga ■ 



THERE'S ONLY ONE WORD 
FOR THESE PRICES: 





Introducing the Atari 520ST personal computer system. $799.95* complete. 



Go ahead Compare those other 
machines with the new Atari 520ST™ 
They cost hundreds of dollars more, but 
you don't get much in return. That's 
what we call a rip-off. 

For $799.95,* the 520ST comes com- 
plete with high-resolution monochrome 



520SI 


IBM- 

PCAr* 


«PPU~ 

Macintosh"* 


COMMODORc" 
«MtGA~ 


Price $'99 


$46 ?b 


$2795 


$1795 


CPU 68000 
Speed MH; 80 


80286 
6.0 


68000 
783 


68000 
716 


Standard RAM 512K 


256K 


512K 


256K 


Number ol Keys 


95 


59 


89 


Mouse *s 


No 


Yes 


*s 


Screen Resolution 
(Noiv Interlaced Mode) 
Color 640x200 
Monochrome 640x400 


640x200 

720 x 350" 


None 
512x342 


640x200*" 

640x200*" 


ColorOutput *s 


Optional 


None 


Hes 


Number ol Colors 512 


16 


None 


4096 


Dfek Drive 


525" 


35" 


3.5" 


But-torMlM 

(DMA) Port *s 


*S 


No 


No 


MIDI Interlace *s 


No 


No 


No 


Noot Sound Voices 3 


1 


4 


4 



••Will) optional monochrome Hoard (nor bitmapped) 
•••WeiUce Mo* - 640 x 4O0 



monitor, 2-button mouse, 3.5" disk 
drive, TOS™ Operating System, including 
GEM™ Desktop plus Logo™ and Atari 
BASIC programming languages. $200 
more gives you an RGB color monitor 
with 512 glowing colors. 

Choose innovative business, enter- 
tainment, education, systems manage- 
ment, and integrated package software. 
Expand your 520ST with industry 
standard parallel printers, modems, 
MIDI controlled synthesizers and key- 





boards,! 
megabyte 
floppies, 10 
MB and 
larger hard 
disks, and 
more. All 
available 
now. At re- 
markably low prices. 

So, go ahead. Compare the ST system 
to those other guys. Only Atari gives 
you so much For so little. 

For the dealer nearest you, write Atari 
Corp, Customer Services, 1196 Borregas 
Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. 

•Plus applicable local taxes $999 96 with color monitor 
All prices are manufacturer's suggested retail list 

AATARI* 

Power without the price. 

CIRCLE 107 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

IBM & PCAT are registered trademarks ol Inter- 
national Business Machines Corp Commodore 
& Amiga are trademarks ot Commodore Elec- 
trodes LTD Apple & Macintosh are 
1 \ ij trademarks ol Apple Computer. Inc 

\ \ V - "~^*\ GEM is a trademark of Digital Re 
■■A m «« *— - " *— A search. Inc Atari TOSS Logo are 
trademarks of Atari Corp 



BOOK REVIEWS 




Russ Loclcwood 



Charged Bodies: People, Power, and 
Paradox in Silicon Valley by Thomas 
Mahon. New American Library. Hard- 
cover, 339 pages, $1 5.95 — 
Thomas Mahon, a 
public relations 
consultant with 
clients in the Silicon 
Valley area of Cali- 
fornia, conducts a 
broad sociological 
study of this 200- 
square mile high-tech 
area. He interviews and profiles 25 lumi 
naries, including Robert Noyce, co-in- 
ventor of the integrated circuit and 
co-founder of Intel; Alan Shugart, of 
Shugart and Seagate disk drive fame; 
George Morrow, founder of Morrow 
Designs; and Arthur Rock, venture 
capitalist. 

Mahon probes beyond simple nar- 
rations of well-known success stories 
and offers insights from observers who 
are part of the "microculture" yet on the 
fringe of the mainline computer in- 
dustry. Lawyers, financiers, environ- 
mentalists, artists, theologians, and even 
a private detective recount anecdotes, 
impressions, and details of Silicon Valley 
life. 

Mahon flits from one story to the 
next, making his prose mimic the free- 
wheeling atmosphere of this high-tech 
environment. New topics appear as fast 
as new products, keeping Charged Bod- 
ies highly charged. 

The book provides a snapshot of 
Si jicon Valley life. Readers will be able to 
glimpse the aura of the area and feel the 
delights and despairs of the people who 
make up this high-tech society. Charged 
Bodies satisfies those who want a light 
touch on the more human side of tech- 
nology. 



The Regis Touch by Regis McKenna. 
Addison-Wesley. Hardcover, 179 pages, 
$15.95 

When Apple 
Computer, 
Intel, Gen- 



entech, and Busi- 
nessland want 
marketing advice, 
who do they call? 
Regis McKenna, the 
president and 



founder of Regis McKenna Inc., an 




international marketing consulting firm. 
As Apple President John Sculley notes, 
"When Regis speaks . . . Apple listens." 
The Regis Touch compiles the mar- 
keting ideas of McKenna in one volume. 
In the book, McKenna details his favor- 
ite philosophy: dynamic position- 
ing — how to portray the product, the 
market, and the company — in the cre- 
ation of new markets instead of sharing 
old ones. He outlines the process of 
developing a marketing strategy and dis- 
cusses the ten main reasons why such 
plans fail. Finally, he offers a true insid- 
er's look at the initial marketing of the 
Macintosh. 

Most readers will find the informa- 
tion within useless — after all, the book is 
geared for marketing managers, not con- 
sumers. And we would really like to see a 
retrospective look at the Macintosh 
campaign, especially in light of insignifi- 
cant corporate sales and generally flat 
sales overall. 

However, many of Creative's read- 
ers will find the insight fascinating, as 
executives apply McKenna's ideas to 
their office work and individual software 
developers realize the importance of 
marketing their products. For these peo- 
ple, The Regis Touch may well become 
the bible of marketing. 

Jazz on the Macintosh by Joseph 
Caggiano and Michael McCarthy. 
Sybex Computer Books, 2344 6th St., 
Berkeley, CA 94710. Softcover, 431 
pages, $22.95 

The first Jazz 
"how-to" book 
hit the stands just 
as the software hit the 
computer stores. We 
are not convinced 
that the initial in- 
carnation of Jazz is 
the panacea for com- 
puterphobia and slow Macintosh sales 
(see John Anderson's review in this is- 
sue), however, if you did pick up Jazz, 
this book proves to be a natural compan- 
ion. 

Each chapter provides both a quick 
tutorial and a detailed reference section. 
Profusely illustrated and filled with 
examples, the book also offers tips and 
tricks to help you wring the most out of 
Jazz. 

Traditionally, "how-to" books on 




specific programs duplicate the manual. 
Jazz on the Macintosh is no exception 
and you can probably skim through 
much of it. However, the tips and tricks 
within, combined with the clear explana- 
tions of some of the murkier aspects of 
Jazz, create a valuable supplement to the 
manual. 




The NECEN Voyage by William S. Da- 
vis. Addison-Wesley. Softcover, 234 
pages, $9.95 — uiwrM* 

Do you remem- TheNRLFN 

tastic Voyage"? 

Through feats of 
technological wiz- 
ardry, a team of sci- 
entists and a ship 
shrink to microscopic I 
proportions, enter the human body, and 
perform a delicate operation. If you en- 
joyed that show, you might be interested 
in TheNECEN Voyage. Through feats of 
technological wizardry, a team of com- 
puter scientists and a ship shrink to 
bytesize proportions, enter a computer 
system, and foil the plans of a megalo- 
maniacal hacker. 

In this combination science 
fiction/computer education novel, 
Georgie Hacker takes over the North- 
east Central computer (NECEN) that 
controls all communication and trans- 
portation systems between Boston and 
Washington D.C. A crack team, com- 
plete with programmer Ada Byron and 
hardware designer Ned Lud, are re- 
duced inside an eight-module ship and 
sent (via satellite) to enter and retake 
control of NECEN. 

As a science fiction novel, the prose 
receives poor marks. Wooden charac- 
ters, bland descriptions, and inanedialog 
make reading this book a tedious chore. 
The book has some value as an introduc- 
tion to computers, but the material cov- 
ered is too basic and too hard to ferret out 
to be considered worthwhile. 

If you want a science fiction novel, 
buy the outstanding The Many Colored 
Land series by Julian May (Del Ray, 
New York). If you want to become com- 
puter literate, pick one of the good in- 
troductory texts already reviewed here. 
The NECEN Voyage is a brave attempt 
to combine the two. Unfortunately, it 
falls far short of covering either. ■ 



16 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 196 




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TECHNOLOGY 



Megabucks for Megaflops 

Uncle Sam boosts the supercomputer market/David Lytel 



Forget miniaturization," says the car- 
toon on Kenneth G. Wilson's door, 
"I want to build a really big com- 
puter." Wilson is professor of physics at 
Cornell University and winner of the 
1982 Nobel Prize in physics. And thanks 
to a National Science Foundation award 
announced recently, Wilson and Cornell 
will soon be building a really big comput- 
er — one that will be 40 times faster than 
anything available today. 

Cornell is one of four universities 
designated to share the $200 million 
NSF grant. The others are the Univer- 
sity of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 
Princeton, and the University of Califor- 
nia at San Diego, Cornell. 

The supercomputers created as a re- 
sult of the grant will be used for modeling 
complex systems — everything from 
studying black holes to forecasting the ef- 
fects of numerous variables on the world 
economy. Simultaneous equations with 
thousandsof dynamic variables can be cre- 
ated, so processes that are too elaborate to 
reproduceinalabortoo complicated tode- 
scribe on paper can be studied. Atmo- 
spheric models built with data from Voy- 
ager missions to Jupiter and Saturn will be 
explored to enable scientists to learn more 
a bout thesurfaceand environment of these 
planets. Geologists will be able to build a 
comprehensive model of the "earth en- 
gine" that moves the continents and pro- 
duces mineral deposits. 

How fast does a computer have to be 
to qualify as a supercomputer? Like other 
performance standards, this one changes 
frequently. For a long time the industry 
standard was the Cray 1, but the current 
top-of-the-line supercomputer is the Cray 
XMP/48. In the past, a supercomputer 
performed in the range of a few hundred 
megaflops (million operations per sec- 
ond). The Cray XMP/48 is capable of 
close to one gigaflop — a billion operations 
per second. Wilson's goal for the Cornell 
computer is 40 gigaflops. 

The first system that will be installed 
at Cornell is an IBM 3084-QX mainframe 
connected to four Floating Point Systems 
scientific processors; its performance is in 
the range of the current Crays. A second 
system is expected to be installed within 
the next year or two. "We can't discuss it 
in detail, because the information is 
proprietary, and it is all based on very 
high risk development projects, so it is 
difficult to predict the timing," says Wil- 




The photos of a computer generated star cluster undergoing catastrophic collapse to 
a black hole. The images shown at various times during the collapse, were generated 
on Cornell's superminicomputer, the FPS 1 64 Array Processor by Professors Stuart L 
Shapiro and Saul A. Teukolsky. The motion of the stars is governed by Einstein's The- 
ory of General Relativity. The collapse of clusters with over one hundred million stars 
in the centers of galaxies may trigger the birth of quasars and AGNs. (Photos cour- 
tesy of Stuart L. Shapiro and Saul A. Teukolsky. ) 



son. "But we expect it to be highly 
parallel with lots of processors operating 
simultaneously." 

The Importance of Being Parallel 

Parallel processing, the solution of 
several pieces of a problem at one time, is 
more than just another hardware consid- 
eration. According to Wilson, the ex- 
periments in parallel architecture will be 
critical in lowering the price of super- 
computers and increasing their availabil- 
ity. "What we are trying to do," says 
Wilson, "is get a new generation of ma- 
chines out and on the market. We are 
putting pressure on industry to lower en- 
try level prices on the next generation of 
supercomputers to less than $100,000. 



Now that doesn't mean that you will get a 
lot for $100,000; the important thing is 
that people will be able to get started for 
that sum and then increase their comput- 
ing power through upgrades rather than 
having to start over with a totally in- 
compatible system. " 

Parallel processing plays an im- 
portant role in this concept, because it al- 
lows the user to upgrade simply by adding 
processors. There is always a more power- 
ful machine on the horizon, but at any 
step along the way, he has a reasonable 
computer. 

This attempt to extend parallel 
processing and the collaboration between 
IBM, which has pledged $30 million in 
equipment and staff time to the project, 



20 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



ltsea 


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CIRCLE 114 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



TECHNOLOGY 



and Cornell are the two aspects of the 
project that are arousing the most interest 
in the computer industry. Supercomput- 
ers are virtually the only computers that 
IBM does not currently manufacture. 
According to Wilson, "IBM is clearly 
becoming very concerned about the needs 
of the scientific and engineering market." 
Jack Kuehler, who heads IBM's 
large computer development efforts, says 
that the Cornell approach is just one op- 
tion the company is exploring in super- 
computer design: "Through this joint 
research with Cornell, we hope to gain 
experience with parallel processors in 
large scale scientific operations." 

Replace Fortran? 

Concurrent with the parallel pro- 
cessing aspect of the project at Cornell, 
researchers are attempting to build a lan- 
guage to replace Fortran as the language 
of scientific computing. The problem 
with Fortran, according to Wilson, "is 
that the logical ideas that a scientist or en- 
gineer wants to express get all scrambled 
up in the computer program. You have to 
weave back and forth through the listing 
to figure out what is going on." 

Wilson's team hopes to build a lan- 



guage called Gibbs that will allow sci- 
entists to express their ideas in a coherent 
fashion; through programs written in 
such a language, scientists could com- 
municate with each other as they cur- 
rently communicate through scientific 
papers and textbooks." 

Spinoffs 

Wilson expects the supercomputer 
grants to produce many opportunities for 
researchers to spin off new businesses. He 
cites as an example his brother, who was 
assigned the problem of designing a data 
acquisition system for an Apple computer 
while at Harvard. "A person working in 
biochemistry bought an early Apple and 
wanted to use it in his lab; my brother was 
given the task of building a device to con- 
nect the Apple to the apparatus." Having 
designed and built the system, Wilson's 
brother and some friends left Harvard 
and set up a company. "What is im- 
portant," says Wilson, "is that they had a 
head start. When Electronics magazine 
did its first survey of data acquisition sys- 
tems for personal computers, there were 
two companies at the top of the list, and 
my brother's was one of them . ' ' 

That process will be repeated with 



the supercomputer market, Wilson 
thinks. "People will get involved in solv- 
ing a specific problem as part of making 
the system work. They will then have to 
have the guts to use their knowledge to 
make a marketable product. They will 
have had an early look at some of the 
problems presented by the new technol- 
ogy, and they will be able to build a small 
company to serve a growing market. Tim- 
ing is everything." 

Whether the universities that have 
received these powerful new machines 
will serve as incubators for ideas that be- 
come commercially viable remains to be 
seen. "There is a certain infrastructure 
that exists around Boston and Silicon Val- 
ley that must be developed," says Wilson. 
In New York, the former chairman of the 
State Urban Development Corporation 
expressed some skepticism at the ability 
of the new supercomputer centers to be- 
come the focal points for coordinated eco- 
nomic development efforts. "New York 
has more than its share of important 
companies and universities," says Wil- 
liam Stern. "But we have failed to bridge 
the gap between research in universities 
and commercialization in companies. 
Maybe Cornell will change that." ■ 



PRINCE — Make color prints with your black & white printer 



JPuMmm 




B/JUDl/lLLE^ 



HPr< 

■ ( i 

.:l Kit 



■ Priir 
BAUOVILLI 



22 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 CIRCLE 104 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



Put a personal 
weight loss counselor 
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Using your office or home 
computer. The Original 
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shows you how to break 
the "lose weight — gain 
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This program is totally 
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alone. With just a few 
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Boston Computer Diet can 
help you take weight off 
■■d In 



Working with all this information. 
The Original Boston Computer Diet 
tailors a balanced diet to your 
specific tastes and helps you change 
bad habits — something no book can 
do. 

You can even choose one of three 
computer counselors, each with a 
distinct personality, to guide you 
through the plan and provide you 
with the support you need to stick to 
a diet. 



This is not a crash diet, or 
fad diet. Written by a team 
of Boston-based physi- 
cians, psychologists and 
nutritional specialists, the 
program incorporates a 
database of 90% of all 
foods Americans eat — and 
you can add your personal 
favorites. 

"This program is flexible 
enough to take into ac- 
count all your devilish 
delights..." . — _-_ 

— The New York Daily News 

". . . not only is it thorough 
in its dietary approach . . . 
It catalogs your moods, 
habits, personality — along 
with your height, weight 
and eating patterns . . ." 
— USA Today 




"At each daily session, 
you are expected to report 
your eating habits to the 
counselor, who responds 
with guidance and a read- 
ing assignment in an excel- 
lent manual." 

— PC Magazine 

"While the program is 
outstanding, the counse- 
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When you reach your 
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keep weight off perma- 
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15 Scarborough Systems. Inc., 55 South Broadway, Tarrytown, New York 10591 ^^F ay 



1985 



CIRCLE 127 ON READER SERVICE CARD 




Some Historic Breakthroughs 
Dont Take As Much Explaining 

As CompuServe. 



m 




But then, some historic 
breakthroughs could only 
take you from the cave to 
the tar pits and back again. 

CompuServe, on the other hand, 
makes a considerably more civilized 
contribution to your life. 

It turns that marvel of the 20th 
century, the personal computer, into 
something useful. 

Unlike most personal 
computer products you 
read about, CompuServe 
is an information service. 
It isn't software. It isn't 
hardware. And you don't even have 
to know a thing about programming 
to use it. You subscribe to CompuServe 
— and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 
it puts a universe of information, 
entertainment and communications 
right at your fingertips. 

A few of the hundreds 
of things you can do with 
CompuServe. 

COMMUNICATE 

EasyPlex'" Electronic Mail lets even 
beginners compose, edit, send and 
file messages the first time they get 
online. It puts friends, relatives and 




business associates — anywhere in 
the country — in constant, conven- 
ient touch. 

CB Simulator features 

72 channels for "talking" 

with thousands of other 

enthusiastic subscribers 

throughout the country 

and Canada.The chatter 

is frequently hilarious, the "handles" 

unforgettable, and the friendships 

hard and fast. 

More than 100 Forums welcome 
your participation in "discussions" 
on all sorts of topics. There are 
Forums for computer owners, 
gourmet cooks, veterinarians, pilots, 
golfers, musicians, you name it! Also, 
Electronic Conferencing lets busi- 
nesses put heads together without 
anyone having to leave the shop. 

Bulletin Boards let you "post" 
messages where thousands will see 
them. You can use our National 
Bulletin Board or the specialized 
Bulletin Boards found in just about 
every Forum. 

HAVE FUN 

Our full range of games includes 
"You Guessed It!", the first online 
TV-style game show you play for real 
prizes; and Mega Wars III, offering the 



ultimate in interactive excitement. 
And there are board, parlor, sports 
and educational games to play alone 

or against other subscribers 

throughout the country. 

Movie Reviews keep that big 

night at the movies from being a 

five star mistake. 

SHOP 

THE ELECTRONIC MALE" gives 
you convenient, 24-hour-a-day, 
7-day-a-week shopping for name 
brand goods and services at discount 
prices from nationally known stores 
and businesses. 

SAVE ON TRIPS 

Travelshopper «■ 

lets you scan flight 
availabilities (on 
virtually any 
airline — world- 
wide), find airfare 
bargains and order 
tickets right on your computer. 

Worldwide Exchange sets you up 
with the perfect yacht, condo, villa, 
or whatever it takes to make your next 
vacation a vacation. 

A to Z Travel/News Service 

provides the latest travel news plus 
complete information on over 20,000 
hotels worldwide. 





MAKE PHI BETA KAPPA 

G roller's Academic American 
Encyclopedia's Electronic Edition 

delivers a complete set of encyclope- 
dias right to your living 
room just in time for 
today's homework. It's 
continuously updated . . . 
and doesn't take an inch 
of extra shelf space. 
The College Board, operated by the 
College Entrance Examination 
Board, gives tips on preparing for the 
SAT, choosing a college and getting 
financial aid. 

KEEP HEALTHY 

Healthnet will never replace a real, 
live doctor — but it is an excellent and 
readily available source of health and 
medical information for the public. 
Human Sexuality gives the civiliza- 
tion that put a man on the moon an 
intelligent alternative to the daily 
"Advice to the Lovelorn" columns. 
Hundreds turn to it for real answers. 

BE INFORMED 

All the latest news is at your 
fingertips. Sources include the AP 
news wire (covering all 50 states plus 
national news), the 
Washington Post, 
USA TODAY Update, 
specialized business 
and trade publica- 
tions and more. You 
can find out instantly what Congress 
did yesterday; who finally won the 
game; and what's happening back in 
Oskaloosa with the touch of a button. 
And our electronic clipping service 
lets you tell us what to watch for. We'll 
electronically find, clip and file news 
for you. . .to read whenever you'd like. 

INVEST WISELY 

Comprehensive investment help 

just might tell you more about the 
stock you're looking at 
than the company's 
Chairman of the Board 
knows. (Don't know who 
he is? Chances are, we 
can fill you in on that, 
too.) CompuServe gives you com- 
plete statistics on over 10,000 NYSE, 
AMEX and OTC securities. Historic 
trading statistics on over 50,000 




stocks, bonds, funds, issues am 
options. Five years of daily com- 
modity quotes. Standard & Poor's. 
Value Line. And more than a dozen 
other investment tools. 

Site II facilitates business 
decisions by providing you 
with demographic and sales 
potential information by state, 
county and zip code for the 
entire country. 
National and Canadian business 
wires provide continuously updated 
news and press releases on hundreds 
of companies worldwide. 

GET SPECIALIZED 
INFORMATION 

Pilots get personalized flight plans, 
weather briefings, weather and radar 
maps, newsletters, etc. 
Entrepreneurs use CompuServe 
too for complete step-by-step guide- 
lines on how to incorporate the IBMs 
of tomorrow. 

Lawyers, doctors, engineers, mil- 
itary veterans and businessmen 
of all types use similar specialized 
CompuServe resources pertinent to 
their unique needs. 




And now for the 
pleasant surprise. 

Although CompuServe makes the 
most of any computer, it's a remark- 
able value. With CompuServe, you 
get low start-up costs, low usage 
charges and local phone-call access 
in most major metropolitan areas. 

Here's exactly how 
to use CompuServe. 

First, relax. 

There are no advanced computer 
skills required. 

In fact, if you know 
how to buy breakfast, 
you already have the 
know-how you'll need 
to access any subject 

in our system. That's because it's 
"menu-driven ," so beginners can 
simply read the menus Gists of 
options) that appear on their 
screens and then type in their 
selections. 
Experts can skip the menus and 
just type in "GO" followed by the 
abbreviation for whatever topic 
they're after. 

CIRCLE 105 ON READER SERVICE CARD 





In case you ever get lost or con- 
fused, just type in "H" for help, and 
we'll immediately cut in with instruc- 
tions that should save the day. 

Besides, you can either ask ques- 
tions online through our Feedback 
service or phone our Customer 
Service Department. 

How to subscribe. 

To access CompuServe, you'll 
need a CompuServe Subscription 
Kit, a computer, a modem to connect 
your computer to your phone, and 
in some cases, easy-to-use com- 
munications software. (Check the 
information that 
comes with your 
modem.) 

With your Sub- 
scription Kit, you'll 
receive: 

■ a $25 usage credit. 

■ a complete hardcover Users Guide. 

■ your own exclusive user ID 
number and preliminary password. 

■ a subscription to CompuServe's 
monthly magazine, Online Today. 

Call 800-848-8199 (in Ohio, 
614-457-0802) to order your Sub- 
scription Kit or to receive more 
information. Or mail this coupon. 

Kits are also available in computer 
stores, electronic equipment outlets 
and household catalogs. You can also 
subscribe with materials you'll find 
packed right in with many com- 
puters and modems sold today. 

I □ Please send me additional information 

D Please send me a CompuServe Subscription Kit 
D I am enclosing my check for $39 95, plus $2 50 
handling (Add sales tax if dekvend in Ohio.) 

Please make check payable to CompuServe 
Information Services. Inc. 

D Charge this to my VISA/MasterCard 

# 



Expiration Date . 

Signature 

Name 



Address. 



Gty_ 
Stale. 



.Zip. 



MAIL TO: 



10 



CompuServe 

Customer Service Ordering Dept 
PO BOX L-477 
Columbus. Ohio 43260 



* Company 

d ELECTRONIC MAIL ■ 



trsdwnMtts of CompuSwo. 
man ot TWA 



COVER STORY 



A reborn Atari once again points 




26 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



John J. Anderson 



the way to the next generation 




Atari 520 ST 




CPU: 68000 

RAM: 520K (not expandable internally) 

Keyboard: 95-key f ullstroke, with numeric 
keypad and 1 programmable func- 
tion keys 

Display: 640 x 400 (monochrome), 640 x 
200 (4-color), 320 x 200 ( 1 6-color) 

Disk Drives: 3.5" external floppy, single- 
sided, 360K, two maximum 

Ports: Parallel, serial, DMA access (hard 
disk), MIDI in and out, dual 
mouse/joystick ports, ROM car- 
tridge jack 

Operating System: TOS (proprietary) 

Documentation: Not available at press 
time 

Summary: Not much to run on it now, but 
unquestionably a real contender 
•: $799, bundled with single external 
floppy drive and monochrome mon- 
itor; $999 bundled with floppy and 
color monitor 

r: Atari Corporation 
1 1 96 Borregas Ave. 
Sunnyvale, CA 94086 
(408)745-2367 



' 




Atari owners are a special breed of 
computer enthusiasts. They have 
always found it an uphill battle to 
defend their choice, despite the fact that 
the hardware is demonstrably superior. 
Like the sound of seagulls at the beach, 
the cry "not just a game machine!" tends 
to fill the air in any room full of A tarians. 
Tiresome, perhaps, but oh so true. 

I am proud to consider myself a 
member of the small but outspoken 
group of Atari loyalists. It might not 
have happened but for my tenacity in 
purchasing an Atari 800. 

It was a habit of mine back in the 
spring of 1980: during my lunch hour, I 
used to walk over to a computer store on 
Lexington Avenue to play with the Ap- 
ple II computer on display there. I was 
saving for an Apple and, in fact, had 
managed to cull $800 from my meager 
salary toward buying it. I was nearly 
halfway to the purchase price, and begin- 
ning to get really excited. 

One fateful afternoon, however, my 
sentiments changed. For after a few 
rounds of monochrome Lunar Lander 
on the Apple, I noticed a new machine 
lying neglected in the corner of the store. 
I will try to reconstruct the nature of the 
conversation as best I can. 

Power Without the Price 

"What's that you've got over 
there?" I asked the salesperson 
innocently. 

"Oh that's nothing. Its just the new 
machine from Atari. You know, the peo- 
ple who make Pong." 

"Huh. Got anything to run on it?" 
"Not really. Just this space game." 
He tossed me a ROM cartridge. I 
had never seen such a thing before. It 
took me a few minutes to hook the com- 
puter up and discover how to plug in the 
cartridge. No help was proffered. The 
salesperson obviously hadn't spent a 
solitary moment with the machine. 

I was immediately impressed with 
how simple the thing was to use. No 



cryptic commands, no ribbon cables 
hanging out the back, no disk directories 
to call up. I shut the cartridge door, and 
in a split second the title screen came up. 
Star Raiders was the name of the game. I 
picked up the joystick and began my love 
affair with the Atari computer. 

"How much is this?" 

"You don't want one of those. They 
won't last through the year, and then 
you'll be high and dry." 

"How much is it?" 

"It's $800, but I'm not going to sell 
one to you. You want an Apple II, and 
I'm going to save you from yourself. The 
Atari is just a game machine . . ." 

Well, you get the idea. I literally had 
to force the guy to sell me an Atari 800, 
and he "tsked" at me on sight for the next 
two years. But I had bought the most ad- 
vanced personal computer available at 
the time. And it was not just a game ma- 
chine. 

Much has happened during the 
ensuing five years, not the least of which 
is that Atari slid from one of the greatest 
success stories in American business to 
one of the greatest case studies in Ameri- 
can business failure. Their problems 
were manifold, and I have related them 
at length in the pages of Creative 
Computing since 1982. Certainly, how- 
ever, among their primary problems was 
the fact that over those five years there 
was no significant improvement in the 
product line. 

Until now. Under the stewardship 
of the family Tramiel, Atari has risen 
Phoenix-like from its own ashes, with a 
machine as truly innovative today as the 
800 was in 1 980: the Atari ST. 

Hardware 

The Atari ST has been designed to 
move the power associated with ma- 
chines costing thousands of dollars into 
the range a middle class consumer can 
afford. 

It is based on the Motorola 68000, 
clocked at 8 MHz. It ships with 520K, 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 27 



COVER STORY 



theoretically expandable to a 
whopping 16 Meg. It in- 
cludes parallel and serial 
interfaces, and a DMA 
(direct memory access) 
port for hard disk and 
other peripherals. Also 
featured are an exter- 
nal floppy port, MIDI 
input and output, two 
mouse/joystick ports, and a 
128K ROM cartridge port. 

The keyboard is a 95-key full stroke 
in Selectric configuration. It sports a 
separate numeric keypad and ten pro- 
grammable "French-cut" function keys. 
The cursor control keys are laid out in 
VT 100 terminal style and are easy to get 
used to. 

Three display modes are available, 
each with a 32K bit map. Lo-res color 
graphics are capable of 16 simultaneous 
colors from a palette of 5 1 2 in a resolu- 
tion of 320x200 pixels. Medium-resolu- 
tion color offers four colors with a 
resolution of 640 x400. In both modes, a 
call to BIOS can change the palette on 
the fly — even by the scan line — to call up 
to all 5 1 2 colors simultaneously on a sin- 
gle screen. Text sizes available from 
these modes are 40 x 25 and 80 x 25 
respectively. The output is RGB analog. 

The third graphics mode is hi-res 
monochrome, offering a resolution of 
640 x 400 pixels. It refreshes at 70 Hz, 
which is ten more cycles per second than 
conventional displays. The result is the 
sharpest, most legible display available 
on the consumer market today. Mono- 
chrome text resolution is also 80 x 25, but 
the tech wizards at Atari have already 
pushed this to a slightly cramped but leg- 
ible 80x50. 

The disk drive itself is an external, 
3.5' , single-sided, dual density drive, ca- 
pable of storing 360K. Atari also plans a 




Bode end sports send, poraM, DMA, and MIDI 1/0 ports. 



dual-sided drive. The system supports a 
maximum of two floppy drives. They are 
a little noisy, but very, very fast. 

In its current incarnation, the Atari 
ST sports a mere 1 6K of boot ROM. The 
sockets are onboard, however, awaiting 
a ROM version of TOS, to be delivered in 
the late fall. This will eliminate the wait 
for a system disk to load (about 35 sec- 
onds) and free all 520K RAM for pro- 
grams and data. 

Four custom chips inside the ST 
help give it the amazing processing 
power it boasts. They are a graphics chip, 
DMA chip, memory manager chip, and 
Glue, which incorporates a number of 
ancillary housekeeping chores. Glue 
also replaces a number of off-the-shelf 
components, saving money and space 
under the hood. 

System architecture was designed 
to interleave cycles between the CPU 
and the graphics chip to maximize 
throughput. Unburdened by graphics 
and housekeeping chores, the 68000 
mpu can attain speeds comparable to a 
VAX mainframe. The ST is a formidable 
muscle machine. 

The mouse is a two-button 
mechanical device in the Xerox PARC- 
style. The second button adds func- 
tionality to the point-and-click periph- 
eral, putting more options at the literal 
fingertips of the user. 

Sprite graphics are missing from the 



ST, but are rendered obsolete 
by the bit-blitting capabil- 
ity of the machine. This 
technique allows chunks 
of memory to be desig- 
nated as shapes, which 
can then move on the 
screen independent of 
the background field 
and without the con- 
straints that limit the size 
and multicolor of ordinary sprites. 

The ST includes a General In- 
struments sound chip, built to the MSX 
specification. This means three channels 
of pure tone audio, across nearly the en- 
tire audible octave range, plus a noise 
channel. Several pre-programmed wave- 
forms are available, along with some en- 
velope customization capability. 

Far more powerful, however, is the 
built-in MIDI interface, which will con- 
nect the ST to dedicated music ma- 
chines. Through the MIDI ports, the ST 
can control a limitless number of MIDI 
devices, including drum machines and 
MIDI-equipped tape decks, offering a 
powerful tool to the professional mu- 
sician and serious hobbyist as well. It is 
also quite possible that the MIDI input 
and output jacks of the ST could be har- 
nessed in unique ways beyond the scope 
of a music interface. 

A large number of exciting hard- 
ware peripherals have been announced. 
These include a 550Mb CD-ROM drive 
at $500; a 1200 baud modem for $150; a 
720K dual-sided floppy drive for $200; 
and a 10Mb hard disk drive for around 
$600. Haba Systems has announced its 
own 10Mb hard disk, as well. 

Software 

Official word has it that TOS, the 
name of the proprietary ST operating 
system, stands for "The Operating Sys- 




28 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



tern." We're willing to ac- 
cept that if you are. It con- 
sists of six program modules: 
Desktop, which keeps track 
of windows and icons; DOS 
Manager, which handles the 
disk drive; BIOS and BDOS, 
system modules common to 
MS-DOS and CP/M; VDI. 
the virtual device interface; 
and AES, applications envi- 
ronment services. These 
constitute GEM, the desk- 
top metaphor interface for 
the ST, developed by Digital 
search. GEM makes the ST look 
and work much like a Macintosh 
or Xerox mini, and we'll explore it more 
fully up ahead. 

Bundled in the hardware package in 
its current configuration is a TOS disk 
and Atari ST Logo. Logo is similar to 
DR Logo, but has been optimized to take 
advantage of the windowed GEM 
environment. Announced for shipment 
soon are Atari ST Basic, which will be 
similar to Digital Research's Personal 
Basic. It has fewer hooks to GEM, but 
does feature windowing. Atari ST Forth 
as well as 4xForth will be offered to 
Forth programmers. Two versions of C 
are set to ship as well: DRI-C and Hippo- 
C, the latter to be distributed by Haba. A 
version of ported Pascal is floating 
around developers' circles right now, but 
no formal plans have been announced 
for commercial availability. 

You don't have to be terribly astute 
to notice the connection between the 
Atari ST and Digital Research, the 
developers of GEM. DR is also develop- 
ing three packages for the ST. GEM 
Write, which we are told is very nearly 
finished, is a word processor in the spirit 
oiMacWrite. GEM Paint is a paint pro- 
gram, which looks like MacPaint, except 




PRODUCT REVIEW 



Aton ST L090 windows in monochrome. 



in color. GEM Draw is an advanced 
drawing program for the graphic arts. 

Rising Star will convert its line of 
Valdocs software, usually associated 
with the Epson QX series of micro- 
computers, to run on the ST. The line in- 
cludes a word processor, spreadsheet, 
database, terminal package, and draw- 
ing package. Along with Hippo-C, Haba 
is developing five packages specifically 
for the Atari ST: a word processor, a file 
manager, a spreadsheet and business 
graphics package, a checkbook balancer, 
and a terminal package. Haba has also 
voiced a commitment to translate its 
existing and future Macintosh releases 
to run on the ST. 

The company Batteries Included 
has remained as faithful to Atari as any 
independent software house possibly 
could, even back in the dark days when 
Atari itself was unappreciative of such 
loyalty. They have professed belief in the 
power of the ST and are developing sev- 
eral integrated software modules for the 
machine. These include a word proces- 
sor with built-in spelling checker, a data- 
base package, a spreadsheet, and a 
portfolio package. 



VIP Technologies has 
announced a $100 Lotus I- 
2-3 workalike for the Atari 
ST. which offers the full 
utility of Lotus' information 
management with the point- 
and-click ease of GEM. 

Even if you own a "not 
just a game" machine, it is 
sometimes fun to play a 
game or two. And the ST 
will have its share of those 
as well. Infocom has com- 
mitted to translations of all 
its popular adventure titles for the 
Atari ST. SubLogic is custom de- 
veloping a super flight simulator 
program, to take full advantage of the 
graphics and animation power of the 
machine. FTL Software is working on a 
version of Sundog, its science fiction 
role-playing adventure for the Apple II 
series, said to be a knockout in its ST 
incarnation. 

The submarine simulation Goto is 
being translated for the ST by Sierra 
Online, and Datasoft has announced two 
games for the machine, one based on the 
film "Goonies." We have also heard that 
an arcade-quality version of the game 
Joust is being prepared for the Atari ST 
by a company called Rugby Circle. 

By far the most exciting game 
possibility we heard about, from a highly 
reliable source, is that of Star Raiders II 
for the ST. One can only hope that this 
becomes a reality. Of course Atari must 
be careful in this, lest its new high- 
powered product again be stigmatized 
by the label "game machine." But it 
would be entirely fitting, I think, to tailor 
a new advance in the state of the software 
gaming art to accompany such an ad- 
vance in new-generation hardware. His- 
tory would do well to repeat itself in at 
least that one respect. 




VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 29 



COVER STORY 



PRODUCT REVIEW 




The Hands On 

I could hardly contain my enthu- 
siasm when the ST arrived at the lab; 
imagine my disappointment when I 
could not get TOS to boot. Once again I 
was pulled out of a tight spot by my good 
tech buddy Sheldon Leemon, who had 
experienced the problem himself. The fix 
was simple: reseat the chips on the 
motherboard. Unfortunately, this re- 
quired disassembly of the system unit 
and removal of the RF shield, which re- 
quires a bit of desoldering. Fortunately, I 
am assured by Atari that this malady oc- 
curred only with the earliest production 
models (we have got serial number 
1 080). The machine you buy will not suf- 
fer the problem. 

The only problems that you might 
identify are rather nit picky . I am not en- 
tirely satisfied with the touch of the key- 
board, which I might describe as 
"mooshy." Also, I felt discriminated 
against as a left-hander, because the 
mouse cable is too short to be moved 
comfortably to the lefthand side of the 
system unit. Luckily, I happened to have 
handy an Atari spec joystick extension 
cord, which worked just fine to extend 
the mouse cable from its port on the right 
of the system unit. 

The external power supplies for the 
computer and disk drives are big and 
bulky. The disk drive power switches are 
on the back of the drives, which means 
trouble if you want to tuck them in under 
a shelf. They sport no power lights, and it 
is easy to forget to turn them off, es- 
pecially if you are used to the Mac ex- 
ternal drive, which has no power switch. 

The most disconcerting aspect of 
my review process, however, was the 
sheer dearth of software to explore with 
the new machine. I was especially dis- 
appointed that no Basic was available at 
press time. I tried running the Ahl 
Benchmark out of Logo, but the results 
were so slow, I will not report them here. 



In Mm monochrome mow (left). Hie display 
matches screen resolution of the Macintosh. 
In color (middle) horizontal resolution is cut 
m hull, but defaults are alterable via the 

i nail , I * /_:.-Li\ 

comroi panel ingnrj. 

I am sure they reflect the overhead of 
windowed Logo rather than an accurate 
representation of the power of the Atari 
ST, which is lightning fast. 

GEM: How Many Karats? 

Then there is the GEM environ- 
ment itself. While it is a remarkably ca- 
pable implementation of the desktop 
metaphor, it is certainly no match for the 
Mac, and for that reason you will never 
see the word 'Mackintosh" in Creative 
Computing magazine. Much of GEM 
seems very Maclike, but the fact is, the 
more you play with it, the less satisfying 
a substitute it reveals itself to be. You 
cannot move icons freely — they can only 
be copied or deleted. And don't try to 
move an icon onto the desktop. When 
you move an icon into a folder, it copies, 
leaving you to delete the original. 

Things get worse if you want to 
move something out of a folder. Folders 
do not open into their own true windows, 
but rather usurp the window in which 
they reside. This means that to move an 
icon out of a folder, you must first copy it 
to another volume, then close the folder 
window, then copy the icon back to the 
original volume outside the folder. Fi- 
nally, you can delete the copy inside the 
folder. Rather a primitive approach to 
the electronic desktop. 

And while you are deleting, watch 
out for that trash can. Once you have 
thrown something in there, it's gone. 
You can set the ST to confirm the delete, 
but unlike the Mac, you cannot double 
click the ST trash can to look inside. Per- 
haps it would have been better depicted 
as a shredder or sink drain. 

The feel of GEM is far from the Mac 
as well. The mouse moves smoothly, and 



it is easy to position the pointer. But ac- 
curate double clicking requires a bit of 
practice, and point-and-click with GEM 
just doesn't feel as good as it does on the 
Mac. Nor do you get that pinpoint ac- 
curacy when moving or sizing windows. 
I can't help but draw the analogy of the 
feel of a Toyota Corolla compared to a 
Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. But heck, I 
drive a Toyota Corolla anyhow, and I am 
happy with it. 

The thing that annoyed me the most 
in my exploration of GEM was the way 
menus pull down the moment a pointer 
nears them. Perhaps this is another facet 
of my habituated experience with the 
Mac, but I just don't think that menus 
should pull down without a click. It is all 
too easy to overshoot an icon or 
windowbox up at the top of the screen 
and end up staring at a menu. To make it 
go away, you must pull the pointer out of 
the menubox and click. This was a mis- 
take in the design; it could be easily cor- 
rected by requiring a click as does the 
Mac. 

Kill the Critic 

But let's be reasonable. Should a re- 
viewer fault a Corolla because it doesn't 
roll like a Rolls? Absolutely not. The fact 
is, the Atari ST delivers 75% of the 
splendor of the desktop interface at 25% 
of the price of a 5 1 2K Macintosh. As it is 
currently packaged, a 520 ST with hi-res 
monochrome monitor and single disk 
drive lists for $799, which makes it with- 
out question the most advanced, most 
powerful microcomputer your money 
can buy. 

When you consider that a 256K 
Amiga (reviewed last month) with mon- 
itor will set you back more than twice as 
much, it may well be said that the Atari 
ST is fairly positioned to blow the Com- 
modore Amiga right out of the water. 
After all, the Amiga is just a game ma- 
chine, right? ■ 



30 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 




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>OPEN THE DOOR ^ iW\ 


THEN ENTER A ml 1 


THE OFFICE / AWF J 


And the / jgii f 


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YOU OPEN THE DOOR.* Y 


SLUMPED BEHIND THE f 


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ASHCROFT, " 

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BUSINESS/PERSONAL 



Kaypro 2000 

An MS-DOS portable with pizzazz/ Joe Desposito 



Looking as if it had just stepped out of a 
Calvin Klein collection, the Kaypro 
2000 is the latest lap-top portable 
bearing the MS-DOS standard. Though 
Kaypro has sacrificed style for price in 
the past, the 2000 offers both. It is de- 
signed with the executive in mind, but is 
also affordably priced. Cost of the 2000 is 
$1995, which includes a hefty software 
bundle. 

Overview 

The Kaypro 2000 comes standard 
with a 25-line by 80-character liquid 
crystal display, one 3.5* disk drive, 
256K RAM, and a serial port. Also stan- 
dard is the MS-DOS operating system, a 
software bundle from MicroPro, the 
Mite communications package, and 
various Kaypro utilities. 

The stylish 2000 has a dark grey 
brushed aluminum case with beveled 
edges and a rubber strip running around 
the perimeter. A handle is built right into 
the rubber molding at the back of the 
unit. When you open the 2000, the entire 
top lifts up to reveal the display, and the 
computer turns on automatically. 

The keyboard sits in the front half of 
the case and can be removed. In the back 
half sits a 3.5* slimline disk drive. When 
you want to insert a disk, you release a le- 
ver at the top of the drive, and the drive 
pops up at an angle. Once the disk is in- 
serted, you push the drive back down. (If 
you hate dentists, you might be intimi- 
dated by the whirring sound of the disk 
drive, which sometimes sounds like a 
low-power dentist's drill.) Each disk 
stores 720K. To the left of the drive is a 
compartment for storing two disks. 

On the left side of the case is the RS- 
232 port, which uses the standard IBM 
male DB-25 connector. Underneath the 
case are two RJ- 1 1 telephone jacks for an 
optional built-in modem, and a 100-pin 
connector expansion port. 

Inside the Kaypro 2000 

To maintain compatibility with the 
IBM PC, the Kaypro 2000 uses an 8088 
CPU and a PC type system architecture. 
For example, the U ART used for the se- 
rial port is the 8250 — the one used on the 
IBM PC— rather than the CMOS ver- 



sion used on the Data 
General One. The 
256K RAM can be' 
expanded internally ' 
to 768K. Other featuresl 
are a built-in real time! 
clock and an 8087 socket.) 
The system uses bat- 
tery power, but can also 
use an outboard AC 
adapter. Charging time 
for the battery is 24 hours, 
which powers the unit for 
four hours. This takes 
into account standard 
disk usage. However, if 
you rarely access the disk, 
battery power will last a 
lot longer. The battery 
charges whenever the AC 
adapter is plugged in, and 
it cannot be overcharged. 
There is no automatic 
shutoff feature. 

The Display 

When you open the 
case to see the display, 
two angles can be set for 
viewing. In both posi- 
tions, I found the display 
to be readable but dark 
with normal overhead 
lighting. However, when 
I set a florescent table 
lamp over the screen, 
viewing was perfect , with- 
out any glare. There is 
no contrast control knob; 
instead you press ctrl- 
alt and Fl or F2. 

Although the display 
accommodates 25 lines 
by 80 characters, it does 
so in a space just 2.75" 
high (9* wide), so the 
characters look cramp- 
ed. But the font uses two 
rows of dots to form let- 
ters, so characters are 
very readable. Lowercase letters like 
g and j do not really have true descen- 
ders, though they do drop below the line 
a bit. 

In graphics mode the screen has a 



Kaypro 2000 

Type: Lap-size portable computer CPU: 8088 

RAM: 256K expandable to 768K internally 

R0M:N A Operating System: MS-DOS 

Keyboard: 77 full-travel keys,- detachable 

Display Resolution: 25 lines by 80 columns; 640 x 200 pixels 

Ports: RS-232 serial, expansion port 

Dimensions/Wt: 1 3. 1 " W x 1 1 .5" D x 2.6" H ; 11 .5 lbs. 

Documentation: 1 2 manuals support the computer, operating 

system, and software 
S w wary:A fast, powerful MS-DOS portable that's great 

looking, too,- a 5.25" add-on drive is recommended 

to run IBM PC software 
Price: $1995 

Manufacturer: Kaypro Corporation 
533 Stevens Ave. 

Solano Beach, CA 92075 a«aE402OiM| 

(619)481-4300 RE AD£R Sf RVCE CARD I 



resolution of 640 by 200 pixels. In terms 
of compatibility with IBM PC software, 
the display functions like a PC with an 
IBM color card and monochrome 
monitor. 



34 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



Behind the Kaypro 2000 



Creative Com- 
puting interviewed 
David Kay, vice 
president of mar- 
keting and sales at 
Kaypro, recently. 
He gave us some 
insight into the de- 
sign and marketing 
of the Kaypro 2000. 



Creative: The striking design of the 
2000 is a radical departure from ear- 
lier Kaypro products. How did this 
design come about? 
Kay: A company called Synerdyne 
came to us with the product and had 
the idea of building a completely 




modular computer. We were against 
that idea, but we worked closely with 
Mark Knighton of Synerdyne to 
modify the product to what it is 
today. 

Creative: The display is much more 
readable than some competing prod- 
ucts that use LCD screens, why is 
that? 

Kay: It is because our screen has a bet- 
ter contrast ratio than some others, 
so you can read it more easily and 
from a wider angle. 
Creative: Do you think people might 
buy the 2000 instead of the standard 
IBM PC? 

Kay: No one (at Kaypro) expects 
anyone to buy the 2000 to do heavy- 



duty computing tasks. The idea of 
getting the price under $2000 is so 
that people will buy it for light and 
occasional use. 

Creative: Who do you think will buy 
the 2000? 

Kay: The person who uses his ma- 
chine less than two hours a day; we 
figure that this can be his only com- 
puter. And it is not a workstation; nor 
is it intended to be. But there are mil- 
lions of people who already own IBM 
PCs and who really want something 
mobile, that is small and IBM 
compatible. 

The 2000 is almost an impulse 
buy for young professionals. A per- 
son who bought a PC a year ago and 
see that it has paid for itself three 
times over says, "What the heck, I 
can afford something new. This is 
neat. I can use it on the plane. And it's 
a S2000 buy ' And, bang, he has it. 



' '. ' i 



Vwmm 



> 1 1, 



Tim Koypro 2000 , crionc uniony 
raptop porrabtes, fcufuics o 
detachable keyboard. Pop-up dak 
drive and on booid disk storage ( left ) 




bumper strip (noht) lend o solid feel to 



The Keyboard 

Unlike any of the other lap-top por- 
tables, the Kaypro 2000 has a detachable 
keyboard. This means you can remove 
the keyboard and maneuver the case to 



adjust the display to just the right view- 
ing angle. 

The keyboard has 77 full-travel 
keys, including 10 function keys along 
the top row. Though a separate numeric 



keypad is missing, it can be invoked by 
pressing the num lock key and using a 
color-coded keypad that is overlaid on 
the standard keys. The feel of the key- 
board is excellent, though placement of 
the keys varies somewhat from the IBM 
PC format. 

Expansion Options 

One of the most powerful features of 
the Kaypro 2000 is its expandability. 
There are two ways to expand the sys- 
tem. One is with a disk adapter, and the 
other is with an expansion base unit. 

If you want to add a 3.S* or 5.25" 
drive (or both) to the 2000, you will need 
the disk adapter (SI SO). The extra drive 
will cost $295. The disk adapter also con- 
tains a parallel port and can hold one 
short IBM PC compatible card (an RGB 
card could be installed so that a color 
monitor could be used at your desk). 

The other option is a base unit that 
sells for S795 and includes two standard 
card slots, two half height slots for 
floppy or hard drives, a parallel port, and 
serial port. 

Software and Documentation 

The software included with the 
2000 is really a bundle. There are the 
MicroPro products: WordStar. Mail- 
merge. CalcStar. InfoStar, and 
StarBurst. Then there is Mite, a commu- 
nications package from Mycroft Labs. 
And for programmers there is G WBasic. 
All of these run under the MS-DOS 
operating system. Additionally, Kaypro 
provides utilities. For example, K-Copy 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 35 



BUSINESS/PERSONAL 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



allows you to copy files easily with a one- 
drive system. 

Although this software selection 
provides most of the typical software a 
user might want, we are talking about an 
MS-DOS computer here, and MicroPro 
is certainly not king of the MS-DOS 
world. 

It is natural to think that a potential 
2000 user will already have purchased 



his favorite software (for his stand-alone 
machine) or that a first time user will be 
more likely to use software that has been 
established in his company. 

So why the software bundle for this 
machine? I suspect that potential users 
will be more interested in tapping into 
their PC base of software than in using 
the bundled products. 

Documentation for the software is 



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CIRCLE 125 ON READER SERVICE CARD 
36 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



plentiful, but it is not specifically geared 
to the 2000 user. Manuals from Micro- 
Pro, Microsoft, and Mycroft are gen- 
erally excellent. The manual for the 2000 
itself is less than SO pages. It covers the 
basics of the machine and gives some 
brief technical data. 

Compatibility 

The Kaypro 2000 is intended to be 
almost 100% IBM PC compatible, 
though this assertion was difficult to test 
since we didn't receive a 5.25* drive. 
Manufacturers are not producing their 
software in two formats yet (in one pack- 
age), and until they do, the 3.5* media 
will present compatibility problems. 

Comments and Conclusions 

I used the Kaypro 2000 with 
WordStar and it ran fast and without 
problems. I also downloaded a utility 
program from CompuServe using Mile. 
But WordStar is not my word processor 
of choice. I couldn't use my normal one 
because it is on a 5.25" disk. Although 
there are ways of transferring programs 
through serial ports, this process is 
sometimes a hassle. I would much prefer 
to have the 5.25" drive available. 

Another problem with the 2000 is 
the single drive. When you are used to a 
two drive system, simple procedures like 
copying files become a burden. Also, 
some PC software products expect a two 
drive system. 

I thought the machine performed 
excellently — in fact it seemed to respond 
much faster than a typical IBM PC. The 
drive was reliable and the screen legibil- 
ity was acceptable. 

If I were to purchase this machine I 
would certainly spend the extra money 
on the disk adapter and a 5.25" drive. 
This configuration would dispense with 
any software problems and allow the 
2000 free rein to function as the powerful 
machine it is. ■ 




You don I understand 
bigger and bigger! 



'Thanks for , 
the memory. 





INTRODUCING THE COMMODORE 128." 



It's here. And it's going to moke a lot of 
Commodore 64 " owners very happy 
A personal computer with a I28K 
memory and 80-column capability 
that's still compatible with all the 
peripherals and over 3,000 programs 
designed for the Commodore 64. 

in fact, the new 128 is almost like 
getting three computers in one. That's 
because it can run as a 64, a 128 and 
in a CP/M* mode. Or it can even be 
expanded to a full 512K memory 
And that's about as personalized 
as a personal computer can get. 
It's intelligence that can match your 



own versatility. And then, even take it 
to a higher level. 

Them's more than a bigger memory. 

There are a lot of extra features 
we didn't forget, like a handy numeric 
keypad for data-entry efficiency 
and accuracy. 

An expanded keyboard that puts 
more commands at your fingertips for 
easier programming. So you can be 
a whiz at using more varied graphics 
and text. Or a musical genius playing 
full three-part melody in any tempo 
you set. And there's even a "help key 



that comes to your rescue, listing 
programming errors on-screen with 
the error in reverse field. 

There's also a new faster disk 
drive. With a separate "Burst" mode 
that can transfer up to 3,000 char- 
acters per second. Just in case you're 
a speed demon. 

"Thanks for the memory! "You're 
welcome. And for the expandability 
And compatibility And versatility. And 
for making it all very affordable. After 
all, one of the other things that should 
go into a more intelligent computer 
is a price that makes sense. 



COMMODORE 128? PERSONAL COMPUTER 



«CP/M«oiU |»» Bi «J * d dBm nrt o»[» g*< Baie u i c rtXc 



A Higher Intelligence 



O CctnmodOfe W85 



BUSINESS/PERSONAL 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



Bondwell 2 

Spectravideo rebounds with a disk-based 
portable for under $ 1 000/Joe Desposito 

An old cigarette commercial once 
proclaimed: ""They said it 
couldn't be done; they said no- 
body could do it." For a time, this 
seemed to apply to lap-size portable 
computers, too. It seemed nobody could 
build a lap-top with an integral disk drive 
for less than $1 000. 

But now Spectravideo (reincar- 
nated under the aegis of Bondwell Indus- 
trial Co. of Hong Kong) has done it. 
They have produced the Bondwell 2, a 
lap portable with a 25-line liquid crystal 
display and integral disk drive for a sug- 
gested retail price of $999.95. Bundled 
with the system are five software prod- 
ucts from MicroPro: WordStar. Mail- 
merge. CalcStar. DataStar and 
ReportStar. 

Overview 

The Bondwell 2 is a CP/M-based 
computer with a 3.5" micro-floppy drive 
built in. The case is a two-tone gray color 
with a handle at the rear. When you flip 
up the front half of the case, the display 
and keyboard appear. 

This is where problems normally 
start for these portables. You turn the 
thing on, look at the screen, and realize 
you can't see anything. But not with the 
Bondwell. The machine features an in- 
genious kind of hinge that allows you to 
accomplish something like a dancer's 
split with the display. It actually can tilt 
from through 180 degrees. Thus, no 
matter what type of lighting you have, 
the screen can be easily viewed. 

Along the rear of the computer are 
three ports, an RS-232 serial, Centronics 
parallel, and one for a second 3.5" disk 
drive. At the bottom of the unit is a 
connector for plugging in a modem or 
additional memory. 

Inside the Bondwell 

The Bondwell uses a CMOS version 
of the Z80 microprocessor. Though our 
review unit ran at 2MHz, production 
models will have a 4MHz clock. It has 
64K RAM for program and data stor- 
age, 1 6K video RAM, and 4K ROM. 

The 3.5" disk drive uses double den- 
sity micro-floppies, offering 360K. of 
formatted storage space. Although it 




Bondwell 2 

Type: Lap-size computer 

CPU:280C 

BAM: 64K user RAM, 16K video RAM 

I0M:4K Op w twuSrrt— l:CP/M2.2 

K l yk f r *. 55 full travel keys, 8 function 
keys, 4 cursor-control keys 

Display tesilatiia: 25 lines x 80 columns; 
640x200 pixels 

Parts: RS-232 serial; Centronics poroltl; 
second disk drive port; I/O expan- 
sion slot 

D fca uflm /wt: 12.2" Wx 1 1.2" 1x3. V 
H; opprox. 1 2 lbs. 

DecMMatatiM: User's Manual, CP/M, 
WordStar, CalcStar, DataStar, 
ReportStar, ReportStar Reference, 
and Mailmerge manuals 



: A hardware bonanza with a 
few minor shortcomings 
hx* $999.95 

Mmotbcmw: Spectravideo, Inc. 
3300Se*donCt. 
Fremont, CA 94539 
(415)490-4300 
asat 403 on a Aoa saMa auto 



sometimes seems that all 3.5' drives are 
manufactured by Sony, that isn't the 
case. The Bondwell uses Tec drives. 

Power for the unit is supplied by two 
scaled lead-acid batteries. The batteries 
last about eight hours and then must be 
recharged, which takes 1 2 hours with the 
supplied adapter. A red LED on the out- 
side of the case flickers when power is 
running low (it can be seen when the unit 
is open or closed). However, there is no 
automatic shut off feature, so if you leave 
the computer on and forget about it, you 
will undoubtably drain the batteries. 



The Display Angle 

As mentioned, the display can be 
tilted to any angle, which affords ex- 
cellent viewing. However, the characters 
on the display are not a joy to read, be- 
cause the font uses only a single row of 
dots to form the letters, and lowercase 
characters like j and g don't have true de- 
scenders. A contrast adjustment, how- 
ever, adds to the readability. 

In the text mode, the display accom- 
modates 80 lines of 25 characters. In the 
graphics mode, the resolution is 640 by 
200 pixels. 



38 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



■■^■H^H^HBH^HHHa^^^HB 



XEROX 




Store this in 
your memory: 
buy two packs 
of Xerox Flop 
Diskettes 
and get one 
pack free. 

It's true. When you buy two packs of our new V/z" 
micro diskettes or selected 5 l A" diskettes, you'll receive 
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ducing you to our superior new floppies. 

Try them out on your IBM-PC, PC- AT, Macintosh, 
Compaq, AT&T, ITT, Olivetti, HP or on our own PCs 
and word processors. You'll see how superior they are, 
both in quality and performance. And they're packed in a 
durable library case as well. 

To get your free diskettes (or for more information) 
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items specified below: 

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diskettes (10 per pack) for your 
1BM-AT 

□ 8R2466: V/i' single-sided micro diskettes 
(5 per pack) for your Apple Macintosh 

This offer ends December 31, 1985 and is limited to 
five free packs per customer. 

So remember, call 1-800-822-2200 Dept 22 and order 
your free diskettes today. That's a pretty memorable offer! 

• Your free pack » ill he til comparable or lesser \aluc (han Ihc l«i >»mi purchase 
XI R( >\» is a iraclcmark of XIROX CORPORATION. 
For more information from Xeron circle # I N on Ihc reader service card 





BUSINESS/PERSONAL 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



Capable Keystroking 

The Bondwell keyboard has an ex- 
cellent feel. Touch typists should be able 
to breeze along at their fastest rate. 
Alphanumeric keys are light gray, while 
rkturn, SHIFT, tab, and others are a 
dark gray color. 

For cursor movement there is a 
cluster of triangular keys in the top 
righthand corner of the keyboard. And 
along the top row are ten half-size keys: 
the KSC, DELETE, and eight function 
keys. By using the shut key with the 
function keys, you can program eight 
additional functions. 

Software 

The Bondwell 2 is packaged with 
CP/M 2.2 system and utilities disk, the 
five MicroPro packages mentioned 
before, and a Scheduler Plus disk. This 
software bundle provides most of the 
day-to-day software you would ever 
want. One drawback is that a high-level 
language like Basic is not included with 
the system. Thus, the only programming 
that can be done is in assembly language. 
Another drawback is that an operating 
system like CP/M and programs like 
WordStar might be somewhat intimidat- 
ing to new users. 

Documentation 

The Bondwell 2 documentation in- 
cludes a manual for beginners on the 
computer itself, a CP/M manual from 
Digital Research, and MicroPro man- 
uals for that company's software. The 
manual provided by Bondwell is not of 
the highest quality, but it is clear and 
straightforward. And it contains some 
useful technical information like pin 
assignments for the I/O ports. The Dig- 
ital Research CP/M manual is written 
for sophisticated users, and is very help- 
ful for those who may want to do some 
assembly language programming. The 
MicroPro documentation is for begin- 
ners through advanced users and is 
excellent. 

Observations and Conclusions 

The Bondwell 2 hasall the features a 
lap-size computer owner would ever 
want — at an affordable price. However, 
I think the hardware outpaces the soft- 
ware on this machine. 

Although the machine is equipped 
to do almost anything, in practice I had 
trouble doing some elementary comput- 
ing. For instance, it seems obvious that 
users would be interested in tele- 
communications with a product like 
this. However, the system disk that I re- 



Spectra video Survives Chapter 11 



It was the summer of 19N3 when 
Harry Fox, then president of Spectra- 
video, made his "blockbuster" an- 
nouncement. There was a new stan- 
dard for home computers, he informed 
the world — the MSX standard — and 
Spectravideo would embrace it and 
profit from it. But MSX never took 
off and Spectravideo was forced into 
Chapter 1 1 within a year. 

So what is the story behind the 
resurgence of a company that had 
seemingly drowned in a wave of finan- 
cial troubles? Its comeback dates to 
May, 1984 when Spectravideo signed a 
letter of agreement with Bondwell 
Industrial Co. of Hong Kong. Bond- 
well, Spectra video's major supplier at 
the time, was to increase its ownership 
of Spectravideo from 16%to49%. 

This agreement allowed Spectra- 
video to restructure $2.6 million of 
debt with the assistance of Bondwell. 
The company was then relocated from 
New York City to Fremont, CA. Harry 
Fox resigned as president, and Chris- 



topher Chan took over. 

Chan remained as president until 
the spring of 1985 when two former 
Atari executives, John Constantine 
and Joseph Lacayo, were named presi- 
dent and vice president of sales, 
respectively. 

The new Spectravideo is directing 
its marketing efforts to the Bondwell 
line of 8-bit CP/M based portable 
computers. In addition to the Bond- 
well 2, reviewed here, Spectravideo has 
announced the Bondwell 12, 14, and 16 
transportables. But it has not forgotten 
its heritage. Spectravideo has re- 
affirmed its presence in the home com- 
puter market with joysticks, a solid 
source of revenue, and a recently an- 
nounced MSX home computer. 

Spectravideo's main strength with 
the Bondwell line is offering more fea- 
tures for less money. This is evident 
with the Bondwell 2, which along with 
the rest of the line, may attract enough 
customers to breathe life back into this 
once ailing company. 



ccived did not include a terminal pro- 
gram, and without a language like Basic 
available, you are left to write a terminal 
program in assembly language. How- 
ever, a spokesman for Spectravideo in- 
dicated that the release version of the 
system disk will include Modem 7, a 
popular CP/M public domain commu- 
nications program. 

The other gripe I have with the soft- 
ware is that a product like WordStar 
runs very slowly on this system. The 
LCD screen is constantly being rewrit- 
ten, which takes a good deal of time. The 
slower clock speed of the evaluation unit 
might have something to do with this, 
but I still think that WordStar on the 
Bondwell 2 will suffer from speed 
problems. 

In my opinion, this kind of com- 
puter demands an awareness by the 
manufacturer of what the typical user 
will want to do with it. High on my list of 
uses for this computer would be tele- 
communications. Not only would I want 
to send and receive data flies, but I would 
also be interested in tapping the vast li- 
brary of CP/M software that is avail- 
able. The manufacturer doesn't give the 
new user a clue as to how to do this. And 
experienced users are left to figure out 
ways to accomplish these tasks with the 



software that is provided — a serious 
oversight that could be easily remedied. 
In conclusion, I think that the 
Bondwell 2 offers tremendous value to 
users interested in a lap-size computer 
with all the extras built in. However, tap- 
ping the power of this portable will re- 
quire some effort. Those who are 
thoroughly familiar with CP/M and 
have an affinity for WordStar and other 
MicroPro products will be most easily 
pleased. The hardware is so impressive, 
though, that if you haven't already had a 
CP/M close encounter of the third kind, 
the Bondwell 2 may well provide the in- 
centive for it. ■ 



MARW 




"This model i.wi 'tjust user friendly — it has 
a drinking buddy function. " 



40 CREATIVE COMPUTI 



BER 1985 



Finally, 
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that's so easy 

there's no manual. 

That's Pronto ! 



Pronto trees you from the frustration 
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Just load the disk into your computer 
and you're ready to start typing... business 
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For just $69.95, Pronto gives you all the 
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• A dynamic, interactive guide that lets 
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• "Windows" and window "zoom". 

1-800-228-1551 



• Automatic text and format storing 
capabilities. 

• Print previewing 

• Formatting capabilities that enable you 
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• "How-to" indexes that answer all your 
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• But best of all, because it's so ad- 
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Get Pronto right now! If you're not satis- 
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Pronto can be purchased through Elec- 
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$69.95 



Send mail orders to: Electronic Software Publishing. 
Dept. A. 21 Estrella Way Novate CA ^4^47 
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Name 

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CIRCLE 1 11 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



PRINT ABOUT PRINTERS 



Two alternatives to high priced daisywheel printers/Owen Linzmayer 



Near Letter Quality is a favorite 
buzzword of today 's printer sales- 
men, but what exactly does it 
mean? Just exactly how near is near 
enough? Well, it is difficult to say, but in 
our search for the answer to this question 
let's compare a low-cost daisywheel 
printer, the Juki 6000, to an NLQ dot 
matrix printer from Toshiba, the P35 1 . 

When a manufacturer claims that 
its printer has an NLQ mode, it is refer- 
ring to the ability of the dot matrix 
printer to produce text characters that 
are so well formed that they look as if 
they were printed by a typewriter or 
daisywheel printer. The trick is to stuff 
as many tiny dots as possible into the 
small matrix used to create a character. 
The more dots per square inch, the 
greater the resolution and the better the 
print quality. 

Resolution can be increased by us- 
ing more pins in the printhead or by 
printing a line of text, advancing the pa- 
per a fraction of an inch, and then mak- 
ing another pass of the printhead slightly 
offset from the first. Both solutions have 
their drawbacks: using more pins means 
using thinner pins which are more sus- 
ceptible to damage, whereas multiple 
passes of the printhead decrease print 
speed dramatically. Because using more 
pins also costs more, most printers on the 
market use the multiple-pass method to 
produce NLQ text. Some of the excep- 
tions are reviewed by Bob Covington in 
the July 1985 issue. As a follow-up to 
that article on 24-pin printers, let's now 
take a look at the Toshiba P35 1 . 



Tos hiba P35 1 

Although it employs a 24-pin print- 
head, the Toshiba P35 1 is designed to act 
like a daisywheel printer. The output of 
the Toshiba rivals that of a daisywheel, 
yet this printer offers a host of other fea- 
tures that make it even more attractive to 
the user witha wide rangeof applications. 

The Toshiba P351 is a handsome 
unit that sits 8.2" tall, 11.4" deep, and 
20.4" wide. It accepts paper up to 15" 
wide and can be fitted with an optional 
tractor feed or automatic single sheet 




Shadow print 

Underline 




E 1 ongat e< 
Proportional 
Prestige Elite 
Courier 

Proportional Elite 
Draft Mode 
Condensed 



Typt: Impoct < 

: Friction (single sT 
optional) 
Speed: 288 draft cps, 83 NLQ cps 
l: Parallel (serial optional) 
CI : Qume Sprint 1 1 , block, dot- 
addressable 



Summary: Almost perfect letter quality, 
with a lot of extras 

Prut: $1699 

Manufacturer: Toshiba America, Inc. 
2441 Michelle Dr. 
Tustin, CA 92680 
(714)730-5000 



feed mechanism. The model I had for re- 
view didn't have either of these devices, 
so I resigned myself to using friction 
feed. 

Paper is manually inserted with the 
help of the paper guide included in the 
base price, but I soon discovered that this 
guide interfered with a unique paper 
handling feature of the P351. When the 
paper release lever is pulled forward, the 
platen rolls in an attempt to automati- 
cally advance paper into position. Theo- 
retically, this is a great feature, but my 
experience is that the paper rarely ad- 
vances to the correct position, and fan 
fold paper tends to entangle itself in the 
paper guide if you are not careful. 

The front control panel of the 
Toshiba P35 1 includes the standard fare 
of select, top of page, and paper feed 
switches, with a side order of power, 
alarm, and paper end indicator lights. 
Adjacent to the Centronics parallel in- 
terface on the back of the unit is a bank of 
DIP switches that control the default 
print options such as paper size, font, 
and pitch. 

Additionally, fonts can be selected 
by software. The Toshiba P351 rec- 
ognizes three types of fonts: down- 
loaded, cartridge, and resident (those 
that reside in the printer's ROM). Font 
cartridges plug into the rear of the 
printer and provide an easy way to in- 
crease the versatility of the P351. Alter- 



nately, you can create and download 
your own custom fonts directly from 
your computer with the appropriate 
software. Internally, the P351 has three 
resident fonts, one high speed and two 
high quality (Elite and Courier). These 
fonts, combined with the various fea- 
tures found only on dot matrix printers, 
such as italics and elongated print, pro- 
duce a range of easily accessible type 
styles that no daisywheel printer can 
match (see sample). 

The Toshiba P351 is also known as 
the "3-In-One" printer which, you learn 
by reading the manual, refers to its 
capability to print graphics in three 
modes: Qume Sprint 1 1 emulation, 
block, and dot-addressable. While the 
last mode is widely understood, the first 
two need further explanation. 

Block graphics is sometimes called 
coded, or character, graphics. Just aseach 
letter of the alphabet has a special ASCII 
code that represents it inside the com- 
puter, so there exists a set of symbols 
(blocks, triangles, squares, etc.) to which 
codes are assigned. Block graphics prints 
graphics the size of text characters and 
therefore cannot achieve high-resolution. 

Originally developed to provide 
limited graphics capability for daisy- 
wheel printers, the Qume Sprint 1 1 stan- 
dard uses the period character to form 
crude pictorial representations. This 
emulation was built into the Toshiba 



42 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 198* 



GIANT PRINTER SALE!! 



List $399.00 



10" Printer 



$ I79 



00 



10" Comstar 10X - This Bi-directional 
Tractor/Friction Printer prints 

standard sheet 8»4"xll" paper and 
continuous forms or labels. High 
resolution bit image graphics, 
underlining, horizontal tab setting, true 
lower descenders, with super scripts and 
subscripts, prints standard pica, 
compressed, expanded, block graphics, 
etc. Fantastic value. (Centronics 
parallel interface.) 
List $399.00. Sale $179.00. 



List $499.00 



10" Printer 



$229 



00 



10" Comstar 160+ High Speed — This 
Bi-directional Tractor/Friction Printer 
combines the above features of the 10" 
Comstar 10X with speed (150-170 cps) 
and durability. Plus you get a 2K buffer, 
96 user definable characters, super 
density bit image graphics, and square 
print pins for clearer, more legible print 
(near letter quality). This is the best 
value for a rugged dependable printer. 
(Centronics parallel interface. ) 
List $499.00. Sale $229.00. 



List $599.00 



10" Printer 



$259 



00 



I Year Warranty 

120-140 CPS 

Premium Quality 




1 Year Warranty 

150-170 CPS 

High Speed 




Lifetime warranty* 

165-185 CPS 

High Speed A Letter Quality 



List $599.00 15Va" Printer 



$249 



00 



E 



l5'/ 2 " Comstar 15X - Has all the 
features of the 10" Comstar 10X plus a 
wider 15V6" carriage and more powerful 
electronics to handle large ledger 
business forms! (Better than FX-100). 
The 15V6" Comstar 15X also prints on 
standard size paper and continuous 
forms and labels. Fantastic value. 
(Centronics parallel interface.) 
List $599.00. Sale $249.00. 



List $699.00 15!/ 2 " Printer 



$ 



299 



00 



E 



i:.i ." Comstar l«o+ High Speed - This 
Bi-directional Tractor/Friction Printer 
has all the features of the 10" Comstar 
160+ High Speed plus a wider 1W 
carriage and the heavy duty electronics 
required for today's business loads. You 
can use large ledger business forms as 
well as standard sheets and continuous 
forms and labels. This is the best wide 
carriage printer in the U.S.A. 
(Centronics parallel interface.) 
List $699.00. Sale $299.00. 



List $599.00 



10" Printer 



$ 259 



00 



10" Comstar 2000 — The ultimate printer 
has arrived! This Bi-directional 
Tractor/Friction Printer gives you all 
the features of the Comstar 160 plus 
higher speed (165-185 cps), 256 
downloadable characters, proportional 
setting, external dark printing mode and 
a -lifetime printhead warranty. PLUS ... 




With the flip of a switch you can go into 
the letter quality mode which makes all 
your printing look like it came off a 
typewriter. Turn in term papers, do 
articles or just print programs. Have the 
best of letter quality and speed in one 
package. Fantastic printer (Centronics 
parallel interface.) 
List $599.00. Sale $259.00. 



• 15 Day Free Trial — 7 Year Immediate Replacement Warranty 

— — — — — — ^^— — ^— Parallel Interfaces -^— — ^— — ^ — — — 

Atari - $59.00 Apple II, II + , He - $59.00 



Commodore-64. VIC 20 - $39.00 



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please add 6% ia« Add $20.00 tor CANADA. PUERTO RICO. HAWAII. 
ALASKA APO FPO orders. Canadian orders must be in U.S. dollars. 
WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES. EXCEPT CANADA. 
Enclose Cashiers Check. Money Order or Personal Check. Allow 14 
days for delivery, 2 to 7 days for phone orders, I day express mail! 
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22292 N. Pepper Rd. Barnngton, Illinois 60010 

312/382-5244 to order 

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PRINT ABOUT PRINTERS 



P351 to insure compatibility with soft- 
ware originally designed to drive 
daisywheel printers. 

I am particularly fond of theToshiba 
documentation. This 150-page spiral- 
bound manual not only contains installa- 
tion and usage notes, but includes 

dltCU40*:ONR£ 



technical information for the advanced 
user. Furthermore, a special appendix, 
which gives detailed instructions on how 
to interface and operate the P35 1 printer 
with most of today's popular personal 
computers, is provided. Heck, they even 
provide RS-232C cable configurations'. 

ADFR SERVICE CARD 



Juki 6000 



CIRCLE 102 ON READER SERVICE CARD 
44 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 





Standard Text 
Shadow Print 

Bold Face 
Underscor e 
15 cpi pitch 
12 cpi pitch 
10 cpi pitch 



Type: DaisywheeT - 
Feed: Friction only ^^9WM| 
Speed: 1 cps ^ S ^»»» - #1 

Interfoxe: Parallel or serial (Commodore 

optional) 
Prke:$295 



It's not fast, but it does the job 
well 

Manufacturer: Juki Office Machine Corp. 
299 Market St. 
Saddle Brook, NJ 07662 
(201)368-3666 



Juki 6000 



Sure the Toshiba P351 is loaded 
with features, fonts and the kitchen sink, 
but what if you are a lowly college stu- 
dent or computer novice who can't af- 
ford all those goodies? Well then the Juki 
6000 daisywheel printer is for you. After 
all, why settle for near letter quality text 
when you can have the real thing for a lot 
less money? 

Priced at $295, "the Juki 6000 is one 
of the smallest and most economical let- 
ter quality printers available," says Jerry 
Bitkower, Juki's general manager. Cer- 
tain to be a hit with students and home 
users, the Juki 6000 offers inexpensive 
daisywheel print in exchange for slow 
print speed. Compared to the Toshiba 
P351 which zips along at 83 NLQ char- 
acters per second, the Juki 6000 is a rel- 
ative snail at only 10 cps. However, a 
human being would have to be able to 
type 120 flawless words per minute to 
keep up with this daisywheel. Not an 
easy task. 

The Juki 6000 is relatively small — 
and relatively quiet — compared to most 
daisywheel printers. Standing only 5.5" 
tall, the Juki 6000 has a footprint about 
the size of a Commodore 64 computer. 
Incidentally, if you want to hook up the 
Juki 6000 to a Commodore, you must 
buy a $49.95 convenor. The Juki 6000 
can be purchased with either a Cen- 



tronics parallel or an RS-232C serial 
interface. 

Since it is a daisywheel printer, the 
Juki 6000 is limited to printing those 
characters that are present on its 100- 
petal daisywheel. The printer is supplied 
with a Herald Pica daisywheel, and addi- 
tional fonts can be purchased for $17 
each. Text can be printed at pitches of 1 0, 
12, or 15 characters per inch, selectable 
via software. Installation and removal of 
both daisywheels and ribbons is a snap. 
Operation of the Juki 6000 is truly 
foolproof. 

Designed to print only short reports 
and correspondence, the Juki 6000 does 
not have a tractor feed mechanism nor a 
top of form button. Friction feed is stan- 
dard, as are the linefeed and on-line but- 
tons on the front control panel. For $295 
I didn't honestly expect to get a satisfac- 
tory daisywheel printer, but as you can 
see from the sample, the Juki 6000 prints 
perfect fully formed characters. 

If you can live without the speed or 
paper handling features of higher priced 
daisywheel printers, the Juki 6000 
should be a welcome addition to your 
computer system. It also offers those 
who already own an older dot matrix 
printer an inexpensive way to add letter 
quality text. For its class, the Juki 6000 
represents an exceptional value, and I 
recommend it highly. ■ 

CIRflt 405 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



1985 



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BBBMBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBi 



LET SPRINGBOARD 

TURN TOUR 
CLASSROOM INTO A 



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The Newsroom'" 
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It's rewarding to write your 
own newspaper and doing so 
challenges organizational skills, 
writing abilities and creative 
processes. 

When working in The 
Newsroom, students are busy 
organizing thoughts, translating 
them into prose, creating photos 
from a library of over 600 exciting 
and very useful pieces of clip art, 
laying out the pages and then 
rolling the presses by printing out 
on any popular printer. If there's 
access to a modem, text and even 
graphics can be transferred 
between previously incompatible 
Apple, IBM and Commodore 
computers. 




The Newsroom is perfect for 
developing newspapers, newsletters, 
brochures, flyers and announcements 
for your school, class, club, team or 
organization. You and your students 
can write, edit, illustrate and add a 
personal touch to each publication. 
You'll find use of The Newsroom is 
limited only by your students' 
imagination. 

There's a "Complete Guide to 



Creating a Newspaper" 
included which offers 
many ideas for tying 
The Newsroom into your 
curriculum and, as with all 
Springboard titles, The 
Newsroom includes a 30-day 
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NEW FOR 
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CLIP ART COLLECTION™ 
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Offering you an additional 

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SPRINGBOARD 



CIRCLE 132 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



7808 Creekridge Circle, Minneapolis. MN 55435 



BUSINESS/PERSONAL 



Gall that Jazz 



Lotus' Macintosh product is a clinker/John J. Anderson 



Here's a riddle for you: What's wor- 
thy in its strategic concept, dis- 
plays at least one intelligent and 
powerful feature, but is disappointingly 
weak in its execution, a case study in 
compromise, plagued by bugs and de- 
lays, obsolete at the time of introduction, 
and heinously overpriced? Well, the MX 
missile may spring to mind, but unfortu- 
nately, so might Lotus Jazz. And after 
the mushroom cloud of expectation, 
hype, and brand-identification blows 
over, the fallout will begin, mark my 
words. 

Sax and Violins 

Don't overreact. There is nothing 
wrong with Jazz that a few healthy soft- 
ware revisions can't patch. Then again, 
not much of it is really right, either — 
right in the way it really should have 
been if it could have been. The problem 
is, it really couldn't have been — not with 
a top limit of 512K on the current 
generation Macintosh. Lotus is surely 
not to be blamed on that score — except 
for the fact that they went ahead and re- 
leased a product that is really rather 
mediocre and sports a price tag of $600. 

In case you have been locked in a 
refrigerated computer room since the in- 
troduction of the Macintosh, I should 
explain that Jazz is the integrated soft- 
ware package for the Mac from the peo- 
ple who brought us 1-2-3 and Symphony, 
two excellent integrated packages for the 
IBM PC. Like its brethren, Jazz features 
word processing, database, spreadsheet, 
business graphics, and terminal modules 
side by side, so you can slip from one to 
another without booting between pro- 
grams. Jazz is unarguably the longest- 
awaited software package for the 
Macintosh, and the one upon which Ap- 
ple itself has pinned its hopes — hopes 
that Jazz will help the Mac crack the 
business market, where it has come up 
hard against IBM. There is irony in that 
hope, as you will discover. 

You must have a Fat Mac just to 
boot Jazz, and you must have an external 
drive, too. The program takes up 380K 
and must reside on two disks to coexist 



Lotus Jazz 



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DOCUMENTATION 


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UTIUTY 


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(+) 



Lotus 

55 Cambridge Pfcwy. 
Cambridge, MA 
02142 
ERAU VALUE (617)577-8500 

OBCIE 406 ON RE ADER SERVICE CARD 



System oiid Price: 5 12K 
Macintosh; external 
drive; $595 



Overpriced integrated 
package has one 
bright spot, but is 
otherwise mediocre 



with system files. Therefore, you must 
cut your desk accessories down to bare 
minimum. Of course, not all program 
modules reside in memory simulta- 
neously; some space (about 200K ) must 
be left for your data (which can only re- 
side in RAM — no virtual memory pos- 



lf you thought MacWrite was a 
bare-bones word processor, 
you'll find the word processing 
module of Jazz positively 
austere. 



sible). Certain modules read only from 
disk when they are called, and this makes 
Jazz slow, slow, slow to execute from 
floppies. If you have a hard disk drive 
rather than an external disk you are 
somewhat better off. 

Word Processing Module 

If you thought MacWrite was a 
bare-bones word processor, you'll find 
the word processing module of Jazz pos- 
itively austere. Although it does allow 
multiple document windows, which 



Mac Write does not, the module can sup- 
port no document longer than 20. 5 
pages, and that only when none of the 
other modules is holding data. In other 
respects the module is a virtual Mac- 
Write clone, the fact of which I found 
quite disappointing. 

Database Module 

The database module is another 
serious compromise. Its capacity is fair, 
allowing up to 100 fields of 254 charac- 
ters per record, with a maximum of up to 
1 900 small-sized records. Data fields can 
be set in documents, so this module can 
merge into the word processing module. 
A serviceable report generator helps 
process database information. 

Using the module is straight- 
forward and simple, but don't look for 
the sophistication of a relational data- 
base. The fact is that the database mod- 
ule is rather like a spreadsheet with a 
fancy front end; its files consist of 
records and fields in a two-dimensional 
matrix. 

Every time you want to add a 
record, you have to pull down a menu, as 
well, which is darned annoying. And 
don't try to store non-text data, because 
you can't. And don't try to size or move a 
report generator window, because you 
can't. The more experience you have 
with Macintosh, the more offensive you 
find this sort of inconsistancy in the user 
interface. 



46 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



Spreadsheet Module 

The spreadsheet module is one of 
the stronger facets of Jazz. It can handle 
up to 8 1 92 rows x 256 columns. You can 
have more than one worksheet open at a 
time, and the ease of pomt-and-click 
really shines when constructing work- 
sheets. But even this module is plagued 
by omissions. The least excusable is that 
no macros are possible — nor are split 
screens. 

Business Graphics Module 

The graphics module is by far the 
strongest element of Jazz, and 
remarkably, I found not very 
much wrong with it. Of course, 
Microsoft Chart is much more 
powerful, but this module is easi- 
er to use. and having a graphics 
program integrated with a spread- 
sheet is a real convenience. 



HotView, which is the name Lotus has 
given to the dynamic clipboard feature of 
Jazz. 

Alongside the regulation clipboard, 
which allows you to cut and paste static 
elements between windows, HotView 
lets you update graphs simply by up- 
dating the spreadsheet — or even update 
the graphs in a word processing docu- 
ment simply by updating the spread- 
sheet. Neat, simple, elegant, and truly 
hot! But is the feature worth MOO? (To 
be droned in the singsong drawl of the 
late great John Belushi) Noooooo! 



Telecommunications Module 
Just as the word processing 
module seems a subset of Mac- 
Write, the telecommunications 
module seems a cloned subset of 
Mac Terminal. In the case of the 
word processing module, at least 
the bare-boned grace of Mac- 
Write seems to shine through. 
Unfortunately . Mac Terminal 
was absolutely the wrong com- 
munications package to clone. 

The Jazz module does work, 
and feat ures an answerback mode 
as does Mac Terminal. On the 
negative side, like MacTerminal 
it does not support auto-logon 
sequences or macros of any kind. 
It is clumsy to configure and 
clumsy to use. 

Mac Terminal was designed 
by a programmer who failed to 
understand the needs of telecom- 
munications users, and as a prac- 
tically identical subset of it, the 
Jazz communications module 
falls on its face as well. Worst is 
the fact that all incoming com- 
munications grind to a halt when 
you click to another window. Forget 
about getting something else done while 
data downloads. 

HotView: The Saving Grace 

I mentioned at the beginning of this 
review that at least one thing about Jazz 
was rather good, and it is possible that by 
now your curiosity is piqued as to what 
that one rather good thing is. It is 



JazzLsborn. 
Macintosh boogies. 





The Alternatives 

So, where does that leave us? Well, 
I'm not about to recommend that any- 
one go out and pick up a copy of Jazz — at 
least not at its current price. Save up an- 
other $600 and buy yourself a hard disk 
drive. Then you won't need an integrated 
package — the drive is fast enough to 
move you between applications at a tol- 
erable rate. After a RAM upgrade, a 



hard disk drive is the best next thing you 
can do for your Mac. Even with a Fat 
Mac with single drive and no hard disk, 
you can do better than Jazz, and I'll show 
you how. 

First, get a copy of Switcher by 
Andy Hertzfield. Price: free. Under 
Switcher, you can run Microsoft Multi- 
plan and Microsoft Chart side by side. 
You might even be able to cram Mac- 
Write into the RAMdisk, if you don't 
need much space for your own data. 

Then get the Mock Package desk 
accessories by Donald Brown. Price: 
$1 5, if you are honest — it's share- 
ware. These give you word pro- 
cessing, terminal, and print driver 
modules in the form of desk 
accessories, which can be pulled 
down at any time, and share the 
desktop applications. By the way, 
the terminal desk accessory can 
continue to receive data even 
after you have clicked to another 
window. 

Of course, there are other 
options possible as well. More 
powerful spreadsheets for the 
Mac, like Crunch (to be reviewed 
in a future issue) offer powerful 
graphics modules alongside high- 
powered worksheets. Careful 
planning of which two packages 
you want to run under Switcher, 
combined with truly useful desk 
accessories, can result in a desk- 
top twice as powerful as Jazz for 
half the money, despite the lack 
of a HotView feature. 

And once the shackles come 
off the ill-advised 51 2K current 
limit of the Mac, we will see Mac 
RAM memories in the 1 or 2Mb 
range. When this happens, two 
things will result: 1) The Macin- 
tosh will suddenly become a via- 
ble business machine, even with 
existing software, and 2) Lotus 
Jazz will list for under $300 and 
still be a slow mover. 



Do Me A Favor 

Please make a mental note that the 
only computer magazine on the market 
today with enough guts to tell you the 
honest, unadulterated truth about Lotus 
Jazz is good old Creative Computing. 
And remember, even if you own Jazz, 
things could be worse — at least you 
haven't bought toilet seats from the 
Pentagon. ■ 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 47 



APPLE CART 



The matter of and with Macintosh/John J. Anderson 



After my negative review of Jazz. I 
feel more than a little bit like the 
hoy who yelled "the emperor has 
no clothes." and as a Macintosh devotee 
that leaves me feeling somewhat melan- 
choly for at least four good reasons. 

Contrition by Subtraction 

First, it bodes ill for the field of 
microcomputer journalism. Because 
computer magazines depend on adver- 
tising revenue to produce their product, 
they are loathe to antagonize a company 
as large and important as Lotus. So they 
sacrifice objectivity and shirk their pri- 
mary responsibility to readers to pro- 
vide the potential buyer of a product 
with a basis for an informed purchasing 
decision. 

Nowadays, wit h so many computer- 
specific magazines devoted exclusively 
to a single product line, I have consis- 
tently seen objectivity shoved into chau- 
vinism, and journalism pumped into 
propaganda, lam beginning to wonder if 
people can even tell the difference any- 
more. It would certainly make my job 
easier if I were sure no one could — it 
would be easy to tell you only what I 
know you want to hear. It ismoredifficult 
tostate the truth when one's survival isat 
stake. 

Second, it reflects poorly upon Lo- 
tus They are a highly reputable firm that 
has invested a great deal of time and 
money in Jazz. The list price of the prod- 
uct simply represents that effort. As I 
stated in the body of the review, it is not 
really Lotus' fault that Jazz is a mediocre 
product. They did the best they could 
under the constraints of the problem, 
and now they are stuck with a package 
that disappoints mainly because of the 
lid Apple has literally screwed (using 
nonstandard, recessed screws) on to the 
Mac. I therefore feel queasy about taking 
Lotus to task, and I also lament their cur- 
rent position, hawking the thing with a 
multi-million dollar media blitz. 

Third, I feel sorry for the unwary 
buyer. After seeing the hotly cool Jazz 
commercial on TV. the slick four-color 
spread in Esquire and the New York 
Times Sunday Magazine, glowingly pos- 



It is not too kite to moke the 
Moontosh into the machine it 
should have been in the first 
phxe. 




itive reviews of the product in Lotus 
magazine (that bastion of objectivity), 
every Apple-specific magazine (they 
know where their bread is buffered), and 
even most general titles (all's fair, of 
course), the misinformed Mac-owning 
yuppie will covet Jazz badly. If he has a 
spare $600, hejust might succumb to Lo- 
tus' promises. And only if he is too dumb 
to know or too proud to admit it will he 
not be disappointed. 

Most of all, however, I feel badly for 
the Macintosh itself. Jazz was supposed 
to be the product that would finally cata- 
pult the Mac into the business market. 
When that doesn't happen, Apple will be 
in a tough position. It has never thought 
of the Macintosh as a home computer. 
And yet according toour 1985 survey, an I 



overwhelming majority of our Mac- 
intosh-owning readers have the machine 
at home. As you may also read in this is- 
sue, the Atari ST computer does a fine 
rendition of its own desktop metaphor 
and much, much more. I hope you 
caught our Amiga review last month, for 
that machine also has a brilliant future. 
The Macintosh, at least in its current 
form, is therefore headed into dangerous 
waters unless it can make the break- 
through that Jazz promised but will ul- 
timately fail to make. 

This is a crying shame, for though I 
use the word "great" more carefully 
than others in the field, I know the Mac is 
a great computer. Too great, one might 
imagine. So great it brought out in clas- 
sic, almost Promethean manner a tragic 
flaw in the Mac project management 
team. It is a flaw latent in all men who 
dabble with greatness: that of hubris, 
which Webster defines as "overbearing 
presumption." 

The Key to Nonsuccess 

If there is one thing I have learned in 
six years of living with microcomputers, 
it is that machines must be designed to 
appeal to the lowest common denomi- 
nator, but only while simultaneously 
accommodating the highest. If you 
would aspire to failure, design a machine 
that is "finished," then close the door to 
the future. Underestimate the needs and 
desires of your buyer, as well as his 
sophistication. Present a market line 
that forces him into a cubbyhole. Dis- 
courage third party manufacturers, and 
burn your decisions into ROM. 

Blue Over Big Beige 

For all its greatness, the Mac fell 
victim to the very hubris I have de- 
scribed. Its floppy drive was designed to 
thwart known standards, to ensure no 
clones. Its memory capacity was capped 
to thwart competition with its now-de- 
ceased mother, the Lisa. Its architecture 
was closed to thwart third party manu- 
facturers in adding hard disk drives and 
peripheral boards. One exceptionally 
awful story tells of the incredulity of the 
Mac team when it learned about the 



J 



48 CREATIVE COMPUTING OCTOBER 1985 



How to ge 
the most 



bytes out of 
your Apple. 





Read why Steve Wozniak recommends RamWorks™ expansion cards. 



1 hi- machi n e tlx.it vu>/ Ixnli is :i |> merful 
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expand ilx- 1< *al nx-nx ay af your De up to 
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How AppleWorks works best 
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APPLE CART 



Hyperdrive, a 10Mb internal Winches- 
ter. "It isn't possible," the story quotes a 
Mac-designer. "We made sure of it." 

In its competition with IBM, Apple 
had ironically become its own worst en- 
emy. I had at one point actually taken to 
calling the company "Big Beige." 

John Sculley of Apple has recanted 
this philosophy of closure publicly, and 
while we have all rejoiced, it is all too 
easy to lay the problems of the Mac- 
intosh at the feet of the exiled king of Ap- 
ple, Stephen Jobs. Surely he had a hand 
in it and has at least as much hubris as the 
next millionaire child prodigy. But the 
decisions of Apple Macintosh were 
never his alone; ergo he should not bear 
the blame alone. He is, however, savvy 
enough to know the importance of the 
role of scapegoat, and he wears the label 
with dignity. 

It is time now to lay aside the plac- 
ing of blame, and get down to the hard 
work of redressing the errors. If they 
work quickly and with resolve, it is not 
too late to make the Macintosh into the 
machine it should have been in the first 
place. Neither is it too late to make the 
Macintosh into a machine in business at 
home and at home in business. It is 
utterly crucial, however, that the right 
decisions be made. Apple has voiced a 
commitment to redress. It remains to 
be seen whether they are truly smart 
enough to know what the right decisions 
are. 

Take, for prime example, the matter 
of the Color Macintosh. I am of the 
strong opinion that a Macintosh with a 
color CRT is absolutely the wrong road 
to take for it would sacrifice the super- 
lative monochrome resolution that has 
made the Macintosh what it is. Yes, 
color is necessary to compete with new 
generation machines, but replacing the 
monochrome CRT is not the right way 
to do it. 

Prying Off the Lid 

The right way to do it is to provide 
an expansion bus, as should have been 
done in the first place, to accommodate 
any and all manner of hardware periph- 
eral boards. Among these might be an ul- 
tra hi-res RGB card, perhaps sporting its 
own VLSI processor. Want color? At- 
tach a color monitor, and you're ofT. 

Rather than an inboard color CRT, 
I would much rather see a larger, verti- 
cally mounted monochrome tube, allow- 
ing you to view an entire 8.5" x 1 1 " page 
at a time. At that screen size, multiple 
windows would become truly manage- 



able, and the shackles would come off 
Mac Write, MacPaint, and all other truly 
indispensable software. 

Then there is the dual-sided floppy 
drive. A matter for the circular file, in my 
humble but vehement opinion. The time 
and price-point have come to make hard 
disk drives standard equipment for the 
Macintosh. And I don't mean serial 
daisychaining from the modem or print- 
er port, which equates to a priori crip- 
pling of capability. I mean a parallel 
driver from the expansion bus. If you 
own or have seen a Mac running with a 
Hyperdrive, you know how the Mac 
ought to run. No one needs an external 
floppy drive to run Jazz or anything else. 



R 



considerations for an open 

Maantosn is the overwhelming 
need for more RAM. 



An internal floppy must remain stan- 
dard only to boot new packages and 
make data transportable. Otherwise, the 
machine should run exclusively from 
hard disk. 

A corollary of this specification is 
the need to run protected software from 
hard disk. I have argued hard in the past 
for unprotected Macintosh software and 
lament to this day the passing of the 
early, idealistic mentality that was once 
committed to it. But I understand that it 
erodes the strength of the third-party 
community. All I ask is that a protected 
package be capable of writing itself to 
hard disk. This is eminently possible, 
and I believe the approach to be the in- 
escapable future direction of all soft- 
ware. Macintosh developers must, for 
the good of the machine, commit to it as 
well. 

Pre-eminent among considerations 
for an open Macintosh is the overwhelm- 
ing need for more RAM. As I stated in 
my initial review of the machine, in the 
dim recesses of July, 1984, the ambition 
of the Macintosh user interface fairly de- 
mands two, three, even six times the 
memory currently set as a maximum. 
That Apple ever marketed a 128K Mac- 
intosh is further evidence of their failure 
to comprehend the scope oft he machine. 



That they designed it to top out at 5 1 2K 
isacrime. Its processor can address up to 
16Mb of RAM, and Apple must make it 
possible to address up to 16MbofRAM, 
and no less. 

Yet with a mere 1Mb, the Mac 
could run Write or Word, a power 
spreadsheet like Crunch or Click-It, 
Microsoft Chart, MacTerminal or Red 
Ryder, and Microsoft File, all simulta- 
neously under Switcher, the RAMdisk I 
describe in the Jazz review. With such a 
configuration, the Macintosh would im- 
mediately be propelled into the realm of 
a muscular, high-powered business ma- 
chine. Lotus could make the 1Mb ver- 
sion of Jazz into a product that was truly 
worthy of the name Lotus. 

With, say, 5Mb, a 20Mb parallel 
hard disk, and a laser printer, the Mac- 
intosh would not only be a formidable 
business contender, but conceivably the 
front-runner — if one more early error of 
hubris is redressed — the forbidding 
spectre of IBM compatibility. 

This is perhaps the bitterest pill for 
Apple to swallow, in itself representing a 
surrender to the standard of the major 
competitor. The arguments against it 
have validity; why face "the rest of us" 
with the complexity of cryptic command 
codes, a mediocre standard, and on and 
on. But the fact is that IBM owners are 
among "the rest of us" as well, and if the 
Macintosh is ever to succeed in the busi- 
ness market, it must invite current IBM 
owners to upgrade to the "SuperMac" 
without having to toss their existing 
datafiles. The easiest way to do this is to 
open the expansion bus to a coprocessor 
and a 5.25" IBM-standard floppy drive. 
The way to beat Big Blue is not to imitate 
their management inflexibility or mar- 
ket compartmentalization. It is to open 
the minds of their customers to a choice 
that tempts rather than antagonizes 
them. And this calls for the potential to 
imitate Big Blue's product. 

Make Yourself Heard 

Do you agree with me and want to 
lend Apple a helping hand? Photocopy 
this column, and send it to John Sculley 
along with your own comments. I invite 
your comments as well. Write me at the 
magazincor via CompuServe(76 703,654) 
orMCI(JANDERSONCRECOM). ■ 

Firm Mentioned In This Column 
Apple Computer, Inc. 
50525 Mariani Ave. 
Cupertino, CA 95014 
(408)996-1010 



SO CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



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A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION 



CIRCLE 124 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



PROGRAMMING 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



True Basic 



The creators of Basic show the way/Glenn A. Hart 



Probably the bitterest debates in 
computerdom concern languages. 
Getting IBM PC adherents and seri- 
ous Apple types together can certainly 
lead to fireworks (or worse), but for real 
vitriol try putting a Forth fanatic to- 
gether with a C devotee, a pistol-packing 
Pascal virtuoso and a Basic fan. Throw 
in a Cobol corporation man and maybe 
an APL freak, and stand back. 

Basic is often considered unworthy 
of serious consideration. The convoluted 
and difficult to follow code that can re- 
sult from indiscriminate use of the 
notorious goto command, the lack of 
branching and looping constructs and 
procedures popular in structured 
programming schools, and other weak- 
nesses make most current Basic im- 
plementations something of a joke 
among serious programmers. 

Basic was created more than 20 
years ago by two Dartmouth professors, 
John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz. Since 
then, their brainchild has become the 
most commonly used programming lan- 
guage in the world. Now they have 
teamed up with a group of young whiz 
kids to produce True Basic, a new 
programming language which they hope 
will become the standard dialect of Ba- 
sic. 

True Basic is beautifully packaged, 
elegantly designed, and easy to use. The 
True Basic environment splits the screen 
into two windows, an Editing Window 
for entering and modifying programs 
and a History Window for commands 
and program output. 

True Basic programs are written 
and modified with a full-screen editor 
which uses cursor control keys and con- 
trol character sequences. The com- 
mands are not totally standard 
compared with most other PC pro- 
grams, but they work fine and don't take 
long to learn. Complete find and replace 
provisions are included, a major advance 
over the simple editor provided with 
Microsoft's BasicA. Blocks of text can be 
marked and then moved, deleted, in- 



True Basic 




IE 



■+> 



PERFORMANCE 



(-) 



■ + > 



ease or use 

|(-> TTi] 

DOCUMENTATION 



(-) 



( + ) 



UTILITY 






■ + ) 



OVERALL VALUE 



System end Price: IBM 
PC (Macintosh coming 
soon|; $149.90 

SMMary: Powerful, 
flexible new direction 
for Basic language, but 
will it catch on and 
become a standard? 



Addison- Wesley 
Publishing Company 
Reading, MA 01 867 
(617)944-3700 



407ONRrADfRSfRVI 



dented, edited as a group, etc. 

The best feature of the editor is re- 
store, which replaces text after an in- 
advertent deletion. True Basic restores 
only while the cursor is positioned on the 
line where the mistake was made, but it is 
much better than nothing. 

The editor uses function keys to in- 
voke several common commands, and 




True Bask graphics ore superior in many 
ways to those in Microsoft Bask. 

True Basic also uses function keys to 
move back and forth between the editing 
and history windows, run programs, etc. 
A key redefinition provision allows you 
to change the key layout and is much 
more sophisticated than the simple func- 
tion key redefinitions available in 
BasicA. 



True Basic acts like a Basic inter- 
preter in some respects and like a com- 
piler in others. Like an interpreter, it 
allows several commands to be issued at 
the command line (t.ET, ASK, print, 
SET, etc.). Variables are "active" after 
running an "uncompiled" program, so 
this "direct" mode can be used for debug- 
ging by examining the value of variables 
when a program is interrupted. 

Once a program is entered or re- 
called from disk into the Editing Win- 
dow, it can be run. If the program is in 
source form, True Basic first compiles it 
to an intermediate code and then invokes 
a special interpreter to execute the code. 
The semi-compiled code can be saved to 
disk, in which case True Basic won't 
have to take the time to perform the 
compilation the next time that program 
is called. 

The True Basic language itself is 
modeled on the proposed ANSI stan- 
dard Basic, which is quite different from 
the Microsoft Basic which has become a 
de facto standard on microcomputers. 
Professors Kemeny and Kurtz have 
written an enjoyable book called Back to 
Basic which discusses the differences. 
Both the various design decisions that 
make ANSI/True Basic unique and the 
Microsoft style, which the authors de- 
plore, are analyzed in complete, if per- 
haps biased, detail. 



54 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



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CIRCLE 158 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



PROGRAMMING 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



Adding Structure 

The main objective of True Basic is 
structure, the process by which pro- 
grams are designed and implemented in 
a modular manner which improves 
readability and maintainability. Struc- 
tured programming has become a basic 
tenet of computer education, and also al- 
lows smoother implementation of large 
programs. True Basic includes struc- 
tured programming constructs superior 
even to those of Pascal or C. 

True Basic programs normally do 
not use line numbers; they employ new, 
improved branching facilities, although 
line numbers and most of the old style 
branching statements are allowed. If 
even one line has line numbers, then all 
lines must be numbered. Routines to 
add, remove, and renumber lines are in- 
cluded. Various True Basic commands 
can use line number ranges or block 
names or a combination of both. Vari- 
able names can be up to 31 characters 
long, let must be used when values are 
assigned to variables. Only one state- 
ment can be on a line. For the most part, 
True Basic makes no distinction between 
integer and floating point numbers, and 
no trailing symbols are used to indicate 
numeric precision. 

Conditional branching can be per- 
formed with either single line simple if- 
then and if-then-else statements or 
more complex multiple-line IF-then- 
else-end if structures. True Basic is 
reasonably rigid on where clauses go, but 
improved structure and readability usu- 
ally result. True Basic also includes a 
multi-branching switch construct se- 
lect case statement complete with 
else (like the otherwise clause often 
used in Pascal), select case creates 
much more readable code than a series of 
if-else statements. 

True Basic offers an excellent 
assortment of loop constructs. The FOR- 
next design is standard, although no 
potentially confusing fanciness like 
omitting the variable name after the 
next or terminating multiple fors with 
one N ext is allowed. The other loop con- 
structs provided are do until cond - 

LOOP, DO - LOOP UNTIL COnd, DO WHILE 

cond- loop, and do- loop while cond. 
The UNTiL-type statements and the 
WHiLE-type statements can perform the 
same functions (the logic of the con- 
dition being tested would simply be re- 
versed), so the choice is a matter of style. 
exit do and exit for statements 
allow exiting from the middle of a loop to 
the line immediately following the loop. 
These statements can result in much 



more natural code than some of the con- 
voluted constructions sometimes re- 
quired by "pure" structured methods. 

data and read work normally, 
but with some interesting wrinkles. 
more data and end data clauses are 
provided to make reading data easier 

(e.g., DO WHILE MORE DATA). RESTORE 

is available, but there is no restore to a 
specific location or line number. 

True Basic arrays must be declared 
with a dim statement; there is no default 
to a ten-element array size. As in Pascal, 
both lower and upper array bounds can 
be specified, so a statement like DIM 
X(1980 to 1990) is both descriptive and 
permitted. 



Ti 



he main objective of True 
Bask is structure, the process by 
which programs are designed 
and implemented in a modular 
manner which improves 
readability and maintainability. 



Array access is light years ahead of 
most microcomputer Basics, because a 
full assortment of mat statements, 
which manipulate arrays without 
cumbersome nested for-next loops, 
are provided, mat statements have been 
available on some mini and mainframe 
Basics, but not normally on micro- 
computer implementations. True Basic 
includes mat read, mat print, mat 
input, and mat line input statements 
as well as mat arithmetic functions. 

One of the worst "features" of old 
Basic is that all variables are global, i.e., 
accessible to the main program as well as 
any subroutines. This can lead to all 
kinds of subtle bugs, artificial construc- 
tions, and more. True Basic remedies 
this situation by allowing subroutines 
and functions to have parameters. Both 
single line user-defined functions like 
those in Microsoft Basic and multi-line 
functions as in CBasic are allowed. If 
subroutines and functions are defined 
prior to the end statement in a program, 
they are referred to as "internal" rou- 
tines and their variables are global. The 
same routines and functions defined af- 
ter the end statement are external, and 



their variables are local to the subroutine 
or function. Parameters are passed to 
functions by value and to subroutines by 
reference. Both functions and sub- 
routines can be used recursively. True 
Basic even allows arrays to be passed to 
both functions and subroutines. Ex- 
ternal assembly language routines can 
also be accessed. 

Subroutines and functions can be 
grouped together into external libraries, 
an advanced feature which can be used 
for structure or to distribute functional 
code. True Basic is supplied with four 
powerful libraries for advanced numeric 
computations and graphics, and several 
more libraries are being developed for fu- 
ture distribution. 

True Basic string manipulations 
differ markedly from the Microsoft 
style. The True Basic string commands 
are sometimes more readable and some- 
times less SO, but LEFTS, MIDS, RIGHTS, 
and other familiar functions can easily be 
programmed if desired. 

Graphics and Sound 

True Basic graphics are also quite 
different from and superior in many 
ways to those in Microsoft Basic. Unlike 
IBM PC BasicA, which uses coordinates 
based on the pixels available on the PC 
screen, True Basic can set any edge co- 
ordinates desired and will draw in terms 
of this view. The commands available 
cover a wide range of both simple and 
complex graphics manipulations. In 
addition to various fast point, line and 
box drawing routines, True Basic pic- 
tures are like graphic subroutines and 
can have parameters for modifications at 
each call. Five "transformations" are 
available to slide a picture, change its 
size, scale, rotate, or lean a picture. True 
Basic can also establish windows, but 
these (like the other graphics features) 
are available only on color systems. 

Music and sound are easily created 
with a play command which uses a very 
simple and straightforward notation for 
music, including such niceties as dot- 
ting, legato and staccato attack, and 
more. A more traditional sound com- 
mand is also available for specifying fre- 
quency and duration. 

Other language features add clarity 
and simplicity. The True Basic input 
statement makes operator prompting 
clear and consistent. A key input 
clause indicates when a key has been 
pressed for good interactive control, set 
cursor and ask cursor statements po- 
sition the cursor, turn it on and off, and 
query its position. True Basic print us- 



56 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



If being clubbed by trolls, 
shot by gangsters, stranded in space 

and trapped in pyramids 
doesn't make you happy, 
we'll give your $795 BacK. 



With Infocom's interactive fiction, you become 
the main character in a challenging story of fan- 
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If you like it. just fill out the coupon on the back of the 



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Infocom story. If you don't, we'll refund your money. 
You can't lose. 



very minute you slip the disk in your computer. 
You communicate - and the story responds - in 
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decision determines the story's outcome. 

It's almost too fun to be healthy. And to show 
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And your investment is risk-free. Because 
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Pick up the Infocom Sampler disk at your local 
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CIRCLE 116 ON READER SERVICE CARD 






PROGRAMMING 



RAINBOW PAK 
ARRIVES! 




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■ QOtar 1 . aWVVC OT U IIIUSIIMnvS. 


True Basic: 


1 minute 20 seconds (80 seconds) 


Microsoft BasicA Interpreter: 


14 minutes 41 seconds (881 seconds) 


Microsoft Basic Compiler: 


5 seconds 



ing facilities are similar to those of 
Microsoft Basic but with a few dif- 
ferences and advantages. For example, 
left and right justification and centering 
are available when strings are formatted. 
A chain command allows you to run an- 
other program, although the ability to 
pass information to a subsequent pro- 
gram is rather limited. True Basic error 
handling allows you to "protect" a block 
of code with an error handling routine. 
The error handling is more flexible and 
better structured than in BasicA and 
most other Basics. 

True Basic manipulates three kinds 
of disk data files, byte files have no 
structure and can be considered as sim- 
ply streams of bytes that can have any ar- 
bitrary, user-defined format, record 
files are fixed length data files, text files 
are stored in standard IBM text format 
for use by any PC application. True Ba- 
sic record files are portable ioany com- 
puter running True Basic (as are any 
True Basic Compiled B-Code program 
files). 

File manipulation commands in- 
clude open (assign a channel to a disk 
file), close a channel, erase (delete the 
contents of a file), unsave (delete a file 
itself), SET file attributes, and ask to 
determine the attributes of a file. Ten 
files can be open simultaneously. Chan- 
nels can be local or global, much like 
variables; an external function or sub- 
routine can have its own channels, which 
close automatically when the routine is 
exited. 

The open statement has clauses to 
set access mode, create mode 
(whether to use an old file or create a new 
one), organization (the file type: text, 
record, or byte), and the recsize. The 
set command can change the margin 
(actually its line length), zonewidth 
(the tab settings used when commas 
separate field output), or recsize of a 
file. 

The ask statement is a powerful 
command which can determine many 
attributes of a file, including its access 
mode, file size, margin, name, organiza- 
tion (type), pointer location (beginning, 



middle, end, or, alternatively, exact 
record or byte count), recsize or 
zonewidth. 

Use and Performance 

To test the performance of True Ba- 
sic, I first ran the Sieve of Eratosthenes 
prime number program at the standard 
ten iterations and the Creative Comput- 
ing simple numeric benchmark for True 
Basic, the Microsoft BasicA interpreter, 
and the Microsoft Basic Compiler. The 
results of the tests, which were run on an 
IBM PC AT, appear in Tables 1 and 2. 

Both of these benchmarks indicated 
that the semi-compiled True Basic is 
significantly faster than the BasicA 
interpreter — perhaps ten times as fast 
and with better accuracy. On the other 
hand, True Basic is simply no match for 
a good native code compiler like 
Microsoft's Basic compiler. 

I then translated the disk drive test- 
ing benchmark developed by Mike 
O'Cone of PC magazine. While this is 
normally used to test computer/drive 
performance, I felt it could shed some 
light on disk access differences between 
languages. This guess was confirmed, 
because the differences were dramatic. 
Using 128K sectors and writing and 
reading randomly and sequentially a 
200K data file created on a RAM disk to 
eliminate mechanical factors, I got the 
results shown in Table 3. 

The developers of True Basic in- 
formed me that many sections of True 
Basic are written in True Basic itself, 
which helps portability at the possible 
expense of speed. It appears that I hit a 
nerve with the disk access routines, 
which clearly should be rewritten in 
assembly for better performance. 

The translation process was infor- 
mative in itself. The editor is easy to use 
and reasonably flexible, although I wish 
it retained indentation on subsequent 
lines as the Turbo Pascal editor does. 
When an attempt is made to compile and 
run the program, True Basic positions 
the cursor at the exact location of an er- 
ror and displays an English error mes- 
sage. This is an excellent feature, which 



CIRCLE 139 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

(8 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1 985 



PRODUCT REVIEW 



Toole l . AM DcflChniont. 




Accuracy 


Random 


Time 


True Basic: 


9.33869E-9 


.3871 


6.9 seconds 


Microsoft BasicA Interpreter: 


1.159668E-02 


9.317505 


9 seconds 


Microsoft Basic Compiler: 


1.153564E-02 


20.39172 


1-2 seconds 



Table 3. Disk drive 



True Basic: 3 minutes 41 seconds 
Microsoft BasicA Interpreter: 2 minutes 48 seconds 
Microsoft Basic Compiler: 1 minute 13 seconds 



greatly eases accurate program entry 
and development. On the other hand, the 
program cannot be run at all until all er- 
rors are removed. 

True Basic includes a break-con- 
tinue mechanism as a debugging aid, 
but the debugging tools are not as power- 
ful as those of Morgan Professional Ba- 
sic and some other advanced BasicA 
utilities. Unfortunately, the TRACE 
facility standard with Microsoft Basics is 
lacking in True Basic. Overall, the 
debugging assistance must be classified 
as fair at best. 

The syntax differences between 
Microsoft BasicA and True Basic were 
not as bad as I had expected. The True 
Basic file syntax is much better than 
Microsoft's, but the language design is 
still not as clean in this regard as CBasic. 
A programmer should not have to count 
field locations — this is the kind of thing a 
computer does well. The authors of True 
Basic blame this on the deficient ANSI 
standard, but perhaps they should sim- 
ply bite the bullet and design their own 
procedure. 

Because True Basic program files 
are straight ASCII, WordStar and/or a 
keyboard macro program like Prokey or 
SuperKey could be programmed to help 
semi-automate conversions. The True 
Basic team is working on a conversion 
assistance product, which we will review 
when it is released. 

I was excited by the character by 
character access which byte files allow. 
Previously, a Basic programmer had to 
line input a line of text and then use 
midj to work with individual characters. 
To test byte access I wrote a program 
that converts WordStar files to standard 
DOS files. The program worked the first 
time, but was definitely on the slow side. 
It proved to be faster to use the older 
technique and use the True Basic 
line$[i:i] (like mids in BasicA) for the 
strip. 

I also tested the Binder which al- 
lows commercial software houses to pro- 
duce stand-alone executable files. The 
binding process itself was quick and 
painless, but a 44-byte source file (to is- 



sue a formfeed to the line printer) 
became a 63,622-byte .EXE file. 
Microsoft's BASCOM created a stand- 
alone executable file which performed 
the same function in 17,792 bytes. A 
True Basic executable version of the 
Sieve took 63,898 bytes, so obviously the 
run-time interpreter takes up 63,000 
bytes or so. I have heard of overhead, but 
this is ridiculous! 

As comprehensive as True Basic is, 
there are also some reasonably serious 
omissions too. As mentioned, the True 
Basic record file is really a string file 
system, so the file system is awkward. 



M, 



Microsoft Bask has been 
around so long in its various 
dialects that it forms a 
tremendously powerful de facto 



True Basic does not support commu- 
nications ports, because "After all, True 
Basic is designed to be identical on every 
computer, and communications ports 
are quite different among various 
computers." The manual suggests using 
assembly language, which is way beyond 
most users. The developers of True Basic 
indicated to me that this flaw would be 
rectified in a future library. Similarly, 
there are no hex number facilities or 
DOS access routines; these are being rec- 
tified in libraries as well. The mouse 
facilities were left out of the IBM ver- 
sion, but evidently will be added later, 
etc. The language system would benefit 
greatly by the addition of a fast native 
code compiler. 

The documentation is simply su- 
perb. Two manuals, totaling over 600 
pages, are provided. The True Basic 
User'sGuide is an excellent introduction 
to the language and its use. Each chapter 



begins with a statement of goals and a 
glossary of the terms introduced and 
ends with a succinct summary. The writ- 
ing is clear, easy to understand, and 
never condescending, and provides a fine 
tutorial on Basic itself as well as the True 
Basic dialect. The Reference Manual is 
equally good, and both documents in- 
clude a detailed and usable Index. 

A New Standard 

The True Basic team asserts that the 
"American National Standard for Basic 
will be the standard form for Basic for 
years to come." This is quite a conjecture 
for a standard that hasn't even been of- 
ficially released. They hope that the lan- 
guage's portability, use of the full IBM 
PC memory space rather than the lim- 
ited memory model used by Microsoft, 
use of the 8087/80287 math coprocessor 
if present, the context sensitive on-line 
help system, the comprehensive editor, 
etc. will be important factors. 

The main problem is that Microsoft 
Basic has been around so long in its vari- 
ous dialects that it forms a tremendously 
powerful de facto standard. Microsoft is 
an entrenched competitor that will be 
exceedingly difficult to unseat. Add to 
this the fact that while the True Basic 
price of $ 1 50 is exceedingly reasonable, 
BasicA on the IBM PC is free. Neither is 
there any law forbidding Microsoft to 
change and improve. Their new Basic for 
the Apple Macintosh (see Creative 
Computing, May 1985) is exploring 
some of the same approaches used by 
True Basic. If Microsoft decides to issue 
an ANSI standard Basic in the future, 
True Basic could be in trouble. 

True Basic is unquestionably an ex- 
cellent language. It is powerful, friendly, 
and easy to use. If someone could wave a 
magic wand and replace every copy of a 
Microsoft Basic of one sort or another 
with a copy of True Basic, I think the 
computing world would be a far better 
place. Whether the True Basic team, 
even with famous heavyweights like 
Kemeny and Kurtz involved, has the 
clout to unseat the current champion re- 
mains to be seen. ■ 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 59 



EDUCATION 



Discovery Software 

An educational giant makes a big splash in the software pool/Betsy Staples 



When I was a child, my parents 
were strict about eating meals 
together at the dining room ta- 
ble. On those occasions when my parents 
were not at home, however, we children 
were accorded the great treat of eating in 
the family room. At those times, I always 
reached for a volume of the World Book 
Encyclopedia and spent my solitary meal 
perusing the pages and assimilating 
painlessly all sorts of useful and not so 
useful information. 

Imagine, then, my delight at discov- 
ering an entire new line of educational 
software from my old friends at World 
Book. 

Discovery Software sets new stan- 
dards for consistency and continuity in a 
line of educational software. The pro- 
fessional educators at World Book spent 
four years analyzing the areas in which 
children need the most help and incor- 
porating their more than 60 years of 
experience into a software series that ad- 
dresses those needs in a thoroughly com- 
petent and beguiling manner. 

The sturdily boxed packages come 
in sets of seven programs for each of 
three age levels: preschool (ages 3 to 5), 
primary (ages 6 to 10), and intermediate 
(age 10 and up). The format of the in- 
dividual programs and the controls for 
moving about within the programs are 
totally consistent within a given level. In 
the primary set, for example, each pro- 
gram begins by asking the child "Do you 
want sound?" He makes either the yes 
or no flash by pressing the spacebar. 
When the appropriate word is flashing, 
he presses enter to register his choice. 

The preliminaries out of the way, he 
sees a menu that represents graphically 
all the games on the disk. Again, he 
chooses, using a combination of space- 
bar and enter. At any point, he can re- 
turn to the picture menu by pressing esc. 
The other levels are similarly consistent 
with increasingly complex commands 
and controls. 

The preschool level packages fea- 
ture between six and eight different 
games each. Most of the packages in the 
primary level offer between one and four 
activities, with those that have only one 
basic activity offering multiple difficulty 
levels. The intermediate level packages 



Discovery Softwc 




e 




E ■ 


( + )| 


DOCUMENTATION 


H 




PEDAGOGY 


H 


«+) 


USE OF USE 


H 


1+1 


EXECUTION 


IH 


H 



System ond Price: IBM 
PCjr. Apple II, Tandy 
1000; $39.95 eoch. 
$249.95 set of 7 



t: Outstand- 
ing collection of 
educational 
software — competent, 
consistent, and 
entertaining 



World Book Discovery 
5700 Lombardo Centre 
Seven Hills, OH 44131 
HICS (216)642-3900 

ORCIE 406 ON « ADCR SfRVCE CARD 



typically consist of one basic activity, 
ranging from arithmetic practice to a 
simulation of life in early America. Some 
also feature review sections and/or mul- 
tiple difficulty levels. 

Outstanding Documentation 

The documentation for the entire 
series is exemplary. Each package comes 
with a 24-page User's Information and 
Activity Guide, which begins with a note 




rour-yoor-old Morose Koppsn, hovina, 
learned to type AUTOEXEC on the PCjr, 
efifoy i letximitj wim ner menu rooters ana 
Discovery Software. 

to grown-ups, parents, or users (depend- 
ing on the age level) and instructions for 
getting started. After the first game, 
however, our play test ers never needed to 
refer to those instructions; the consis- 
tency and simplicity of the activities 
made it possible for them to figure out 
what they needed to know very quickly. 
The remaining pages of each Guide 
are, perhaps, the most valuable part of 
the package; they describe non-comput- 
er activities and projects the child can 



do to augment his understanding of the 
concepts practiced on the computer. 
These activities complement the pro- 
grams and provide expert guidance for 
parents and teachers. And World Book 
even provides an educational objective 
for each section. 

Preschool Level 

The preschool level features Pock- 
ets, a kangaroo in basketball sneakers. 

Packages in this set include: Come 
Play with Pockets, which offers practice 
of visual memory skills; Pockets Goes on 
Vacation, which offers practice in identi- 
fying positional relationships; Happy 
Birthday. Pockets, which offers practice 
in visual discrimination; Pockets Leads 
the Parade, which offers practice in pat- 
tern recognition; Pockets Goes to the Car- 
nival, which offers practice in one-to-one 
correspondence and counting; Pockets 
Goes on a Picnic, which offers practice in 
making associations; and Pockets and 
her New Sneakers, in which Pockets 
abandons her basketball sneakers to pro- 
vide practice in classification by color, 
shape, and size. 

The games in this set are very sim- 
ple, but even after many hours of play, 
our playtesters still show no signs of 
boredom. 

Primary Level 

The programs in the primary level 
set offer practice in a wide range of skills: 
Mighty Math features review of basic 
arithmetic skills at varying levels of diffi- 
culty. Space Port features practice of vi- 



60 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 






PRODUCT REVIEW 



sual memory skills at varying levels of 
difficulty. Word Player features practice 
in vocabulary building and offers a cre- 
ate-your-own-stories option. How 
Things Work features review of how 
tools can be used to make work easier. 
Take Me North features practice in using 
cardinal directions, and in using map 
reading skills. A-mazing Words features 
spelling review at varying levels of diffi- 
culty, "beginning at the primary grades 
and useful through high school." And 
Plot-a-Point features practice in the use 
of number lines and the plotting of 
coordinates. 

The only gaffe we noted in the 
Discovery Software series appeared in 
How Things Work. In this game, the 
child must choose which of three basic 
tools will solve a problem pictured on the 
screen. The fourth option is a box filled 
with question marks. If the child selects 
the question marks, he is returned to the 
"information section where he can find 
out more about machines." Unfortu- 
nately, he is not allowed to return to the 
problem to test his knowledge. Our play- 
testers found this frustrating. 

Intermediate Level 

Again, the range of skills and diffi- 
culty is wide, and I found myself fas- 
cinated by some of the activities — espe- 
cially in Run for President, a social 
studies program featuring review of ge- 
ography facts about the U.S. and review 
of U.S. state facts, and Settling America, 
a simulation featuring practice in de- 
cision-making and review of facts about 
everyday life in early America. 

Other programs in the set include: 
WhizCalcI, an arithmetic skills program 
featuring practice of basic arithmetic op- 
erations with nine levels of difficulty; 
WhizCalc II, an arithmetic comprehen- 
sion program featuring practice in solv- 
ing arithmetic word problems and expo- 
sure to a junior spreadsheet; Spellbound, 
a critical thinking skills review program 
featuring verbal analogies and four levels 
of difficulty; Fast Break, a punctuation 
skills review program featuring explana- 
tion of commonly used punctuation 
marks and practice in using punctuation 
marks in context; and Data Hurdles, a 
data use skills review program featuring 
three levels of difficulty, ten data 
manipulation skill segments, and on- 
screen tutorial skill reviews. 

Summary 

The only thing that really bothered 
me about the Discovery Software series 
is, unfortunately, a characteristic of the 



only machine on which the software cur- 
rently runs. The process of copying DOS 
onto the program disk using the single- 
drive of the PCjr can only be described as 
torture. I did, however, discover that a 
four-year-old can be taught to load DOS 
separately and type autoexec. 

It is obvious that the people at 
World Book invested a great deal of time 



and effort in their Discovery Software. 
The programs are well thought out, 
competently executed, and pedagogi- 
cally sound. 

Choose the one that reviews an area 
in which your child needs practice, or 
buy the whole set — you won't go wrong 
with software from one of the best 
known names in American education. ■ 



MECC Introduces a Unique Purchase Plan. 

The MECC Club: A New Way to 
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1 1 1 1 u h i n 1 1 m i 



CIRCLE 122 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 61 



SOFTWARE COMMENTARY 



A discriminating selection of current releases 



Easy Graph from Grolier Electronic 
Publishing is a well-polished in- 
troduction to computerized 
graphing concepts, yet its usefulness in 
real-life applications is severely limited. 
Designed for users aged 8 to adult, Easy 
Graph explains the use and construction 
of bar graphs, pictographs, and pie 
charts through a series of menu-driven 
examples. 

With its simple explanations and ex- 
cellent error-trapping, Easy Graph is a 
valuable tool for youngsters learning the 
fundamentals of graphs. There is no need 
to memorize complex commands or 
worry about axis or scaling — you simply 
enter the words and the values asso- 
ciated to them (i.e. Neil's Age ... 21). 
Once the data are entered, Easy Graph 
takes care of the rest. 

Unfortunately, Easy Graph can 
handle only six to eight sets of values, 
depending upon which type of graph you 
want. It is not difficult to imagine how 



Easy Graph 




(-) 



■> 



PERFORMANCE 



H 



EASE OF USE 



ED 



System and Price: 64K 
Apple II disk system, 
IBM PC/PCjr, C64; 
$39.95 



H 


1 ( + ) 


DOCUMENTATION 


H 


< + ) 



y: A nice 
introduction to 
graphing, but of 
limited usefulness 



UTILITY 



(-) 



( + ) 



OVERALL VALUE 



Grolier Electronic 
Publishing, Inc. 
Sherman Turnpike 
Danbury,CT06816 
(800)858-8858 
QRCIE 409 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



this restricts the usefulness of the pro- 
gram. It is, however, impossible for me 
to imagine an adult actually using Easy 
Graph for many real world business or 
mathematical applications. 

Easy Graph operates on any Apple 
II with a minimum of 64K and one disk 



drive. The only way to save information 
you may have entered is to print the 
graph, which requires you to have an 
Epson dot matrix printer. Apple He 
owners must specify the He version of 
Easy Graph if hardcopy output is 
desired. — OWL 



Road Rally U.S.A. 



H 




GRAPHICS 




|H 


(+) 


PLAYASILITY 


|H 



EDUCATIONAL VALUE 



F 



■i 



DOCUMENTATION 

i 1 

EASE OF LEARNING 



System and Price: IBM 
PC with color graphics 
adapter, PCjr; $39.95 

Summary: Lots of 
geography fun and 
learning in an 
attractive package 

Manufacturer: 

Bantam Electronic 

Publishing 

666 Fifth Ave. 

New York, NY 10103 

(212)765-6500 



ORCIE 4 1 ON RE ADCR SERVO CARD 



A relative newcomer to the educa- 
tional software community. Ban- 
tam Electronic Publishing should 
make a big splash with its entertaining 
educational programs for elementary age 
children. One of the best is Road Rally 
U.S.A., a program that puts you in the 
driver's seat, requiring you to use your 
knowledge of history and geography to 
find key locations and earn points. 

At the lowest of t hreedifficu 1 1 y levels, 



you are told simply to go to a given 
location — usually a city. At the highest 
level, you receive more subtle clues and 
challenging clues: "Make tracks for the 
MD site of the first Railroad" (Baltimore). 
Once you have identified your desti- 
nation, you consult the map card for the 
region (New England, Mid Atlantic, 
Southeast, North Central, South Cen- 
tral, Northwest, or Southwest) you have 
chosen and drive there. The highways, 



cities, and points of interest represented 
on the map are real, and children es- 
pecially enjoy driving to and through 
places they have visited. 

To add a bit more challenge to the 
game, Bantam has included assorted 
hazards (bad weather, landslides, care- 
less drivers) and limitations. The radio 
on your dashboard (represented at the 
side of the screen) warns you of some 
hazards, but if you fail to heed its warn- 
ing and collide with a truck or a fallen 
tree, you lose one of the three cars with 
which you start each round. The limita- 
tions, time and fuel, are easier to cope 
with. Twelve minutes is usually plenty of 
time for all but the youngest players to 
find the three to five required locations, 
and if you run low on gas, you have only 
to stop at a gas pump to fill up. 

Road Rally U.S. A. is loads of fun for 
the whole family — the sort of game that 
can be enjoyed by a group of friends, even 
though only one actually drives the car. 
The controls are simple enough for 
young players to master, and the more 
difficult questions are challenging 
enough for adults to enjoy. — EBS 



62 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



■r»» ii i ,i • i ■ 







iwW 




*■■ 




rwin 

Utallil 

































*% 



SubLOGIC Scenery Disks expand the potential flying environ- 
ment of Flight simulator il and Microsoft Flight simulator. 

Twelve separate scenery Disks cover the entire continental 
United States. Each disk covers a geographical region of 
the country, and Includes the major airports, radio-nav 
aids cities, highways, rivers, and lakes located in that region. 
Enough detail is available on each disk for either visual or 
instrument cross-country navigation. 
A STAR Scenery Disk (available 4th quarter 1985) covers a 
smaller area with a relatively dense amount of scenery. 
STAR Scenery Disks are primarily intended for visual flight 
sight-seeing. They Include buildings and landmarks, as well 
as detailed renditions of all major airports in the area. 











individual Scenery Disk price: $19.95 
western U.S. (Disks 1-6): $99.95 

-Coming Soon - 
Eastern U.S. (Disks 7-12): $99.95 

See Your Dealer . . . 

or write or call for more Information. For direct orders 
please specify which disk or disk-set you want. Enclose the 
correct amount plus $2.00 for shipping ($6.00 for the six-disk 
set) and specify UPS or first class mall delivery. Visa, Master- 
Card, American Express, and Diners Club cards accepted. 

commodore 64 Is a trademark of commodore Electronics Ltd. 

IBM is a registered trademark of international Business Machines Corp. 

For the commodore 64™ and IBM PC® 



LOGIC 

Corporation 
713 Edgebrook Drive 
Champaign IL 61820 

(217) 359-8482 Tt*ei:206WS 



Order Una: (800) 637-4983 

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CIRCLE 133 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



FREE aMp 




A trustworthy guide to what's new in electronics and computers. 

For many years the illustrated Heathkit Catalog has been a guide to new 
and exciting kit products for people like you to build. To enjoy and learn 
from them, while saving money in the process. What sets the Heathkit 
Catalog apart is its range of high quality products and accurate informa- 
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products you'll take pride in. 

Send for free Catalog M coupon is missing, write Heath Company, 
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Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022 

} Please send me my FREE HEATHKIT CATALOG. 



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IMeathkn product* are also displayed sold and serviced at 94 Heathkit Electronic 

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CIRCLE 112 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



P 



SOFTWARE COMMENTARY 



Smooth talker 



m+>i 


PERFORMANCE 




H 


(+) 



Syiltui aad Prkc 
Macintosh; $149.95 



EASE OF USE 



(-1 



( + ) 



DOCUMENTATION 
■ 



f : Competent 
speech synthesizer that 
needs no additional 
hardware 



UTILITY 



_ 



( + ) 



(-) 



OVER All VALUE 



First Byte, Inc. 
2845 Temple Ave. 
long Beach, CA 90806 
(213)595-7006 

ORC1E4110N 
REAOK SHcwa CARD 



Smooth talker for the Macintosh uses 
what its manufacturer calls Mul- 
tiple Pole Analysis to create speech. 
This flexible proprietary technique is 
theoretically capable of articulating any 
word in any language — without pre- 
coding or ROM storage. 

The package consists of two main 
software components. The front end 
translates the English input text into 41 
phonetic codes, using more than 1000 
characteristics of the English language. 
The encoded phonemes are then fed to 
the back end, which tells the Mac to gen- 
erate the sounds of speech. The phonetic 
codes can be entered directly as well, 
which is useful for tweaking the ac- 
curacy of the output. 

Smoothtalker incorporates a 
lookup dictionary of oddly pronounced 
words, abbreviations, and other excep- 
tions, to which you can add your own en- 
tries. Input is accepted directly from the 
keyboard, from an included text editor, 
from a Mac Write or Microsoft Word 
document that has been saved in Text 
mode, from the contents of the clipboard 
or scrapbook, or from "certain program- 
ming languages," including Basic 2.0, 
Pascal, C, Forth, and assembly. 

Once input text is available, you can 
adjust volume, pitch, speed, tone (bass or 
treble), and voice (male or female). 
These adjustments can be applied to the 
entire document or to only a specified 
portion. Instructions can be imbedded in 
the text. 

It is not at all necessary to know or 
learn the phonetic codes to use Smooth- 
talker, but they are useful for optimizing 
pronunciation of tricky words or for 
improving the inflection of generated 
speech. In general, the speech is clear, 
and I find it easy to understand, es- 
pecially if the Mac is attached to an ex- 
ternal sound system. 

How can the system be used? Presi- 



64 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



&<xfo 



Stickybear Stickybear 
Math Reading 




"Destined to be a classic..." 
Electronic Learning 

Make practice in addition and 
subtraction an adventure! Every 
time youngsters get a set of prob- 
lems right, they help Stickybear 
out of a jam. Perfect for home 
and school use. The 20 different 
levels allow you to customize 
programs for each user. . .or 



"....will delight any child. 
Electronic Learning 

Stimulate creative thinking in 
youngsters and build language 
skills too! Delightful animation 
turns words and sentences 

E tinted on the screen into real- 
ve action. Enough words and M ^j 

picture choices for thousands 
of sentence combinations 





.^ 




• Stickybear 9 Math was voted one of 
the Best of the Best by computer 
prcviewers for Electronic Learning. 
Both programs available for use with Ap- 
ple® and Commodore 64® personal com- 
puters. Price: $39.95 (Apple version); 
$29.95 (Commodore). Look tor our soft- 
ware in finer computer stores everywhere. 
Or call toll free 800-852-5000. 



CIRCLE 134 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



Snekybear is a registered trademark t* Optimum RestHiree. Iik. 

SlKkvhear programs developed by Optimum RestHnxc, Iik 

Jkkkybcar Math created by R*hard I letter and Susan IXihteki 

Stickybear Reading ereated bv Richard 1 letter and Steve Wnrthington 

Apple and Oimmndiice 64 ate registered trademark* i>f Apptc, Iik . and 

Comm.id.irc F.ketronies, ltd . respecmclv. 




Middletown. CT 06457 



MANAGING YOUR CHECKBOOK? 

MANAGING YOUR BUDGET? 

MANAGING YOUR BILLS? 

MANAGING YOUR CASH FLOW? 

MANAGING YOUR TAXES? 

MANAGING YOUR INSURANCE? 

MANAGING YOUR STOCKS? 

MANAGING YOUR BONDS? 

MANAGING YOUR REAL ESTATE? 

MANAGING YOUR TAX SHELTERS? 

MANAGING YOUR SAVINGS? 

MANAGING YOUR MORTGAGE? 

MANAGING YOUR AUTO LOAN? 

MANAGING YOUR RETIREMENT? 

MANAGING YOUR CALENDAR? 

MANAGING YOUR CHARGE ACCOUNTS? 

MANAGING YOUR CAPITAL GAINS? 

MANAGING YOUR ANNUITIES? 

MANAGING YOUR APPOINTMENTS? 

MANAGING YOUR DIVIDENDS? 

MANAGING YOUR INTEREST? 

MANAGING YOUR RECORDS? 

MANAGING YOUR VALUABLES? 

MANAGING YOUR KEOGHS? 

MANAGING YOUR IRA'S? 



MANAGING YOUR MONEY* 
BY ANDREW TOBIAS. 
THE ONLY FINANCIAL 
SOFTWARE THAT DOES IT ALL. 




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SOFTWARE COMMENTARY 



dent David Fradin of First Byte says that 
current uses include reading text to the 
handicapped, education, and proofread- 
ing. I can think of dozens of uses just 
within those categories, and I am sure 
that imaginative users are already dis- 
covering additional applications. 



All in all, I would categorize the 
performance of Smoothtalker as good. It 
seems fairly priced, and if one of the sug- 
gested uses fits your needs, it can be a 
bargain — perhaps even a godsend. If 
not, it is still tremendous fun. 

— Glenn Hart 



Financial Time Machine 



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Financial Time Machine is an ac- 
curate computer model (in game 
form) of the real investment world 
from 1930 through 1984. With it you can 
explore how 32 widely varied invest- 
ments were affected by peace, tension, 
war, depression, inflation, recession, and 
recovery. 

The game can be played by from one 
to four players. You select the starting 
year of a five-year period and you are off 
and running. Across the top of the screen 
runs a ticker tape which displays current 
prices of the 27 stocks and five other 
investments. Just under it is a news wire 
which displays investment, political, 
and even entertainment and sports news. 
The main part of the screen displays the 
investment portfolios of the individual 
players (one at a time). As the quarter 
progresses, players can make investment 
decisions. Although you have the sense 
of playing the game in real time because 
both tickers keep moving by, each quar- 
ter takes about six minutes, so there is 
plenty of time for players to make their 
decisions. Indeed, with just one player, 
time seems to drag a bit. An entire five- 
year game takes about two hours, al- 
though you can save a game in progress 
at the end of each year (every 24 
minutes). 

The game can be as simple or com- 
plicated as you want. You can buy and 
sell any of 27 stocks, an index mutual 
fund, gold, bonds, or T-bills. More ad- 



vanced players can buy on margin, issue 
limit orders, and place put and call 
options. 

The brief ten-page instruction man- 
ual tells you all you need to know to run 
the model, provides capsule descriptions 
of each stock, and shows the sensitivity 
of each stock to the GNP, prime rate, 
and political factors. 

I used the model with a starting year 
of 1939 and, with 20/20 hindsight, 
bought stocks of companies like GM, 
GE, and McDonnell Douglas. I watched 
the value of my initial $ 100,000 portfolio 
soar to over $158,000 by the third quar- 
ter of 1940 and then plummet to the 
$ 1 20,00 range when Roosevelt proposed 
an excess profits tax and the threat of 
U.S. involvement in the war became 
more real. 

In addition to playing the game over 
the past 55 years, you can also play it into 
the future. Imagine my surprise when I 
saw that the Cubs won five straight 
World Series, that Iceland was threaten- 
ing to invade Canada, and that Russia 
tracked an alien spacecraft near Venus. 

For added realism, the program fig- 
ures in brokerage commissions, margin 
interest, and taxes. Incidentally, it as- 
sumes you are in the 50% tax bracket; 
perhaps if you play this game long 
enough, you will be. I felt the game was 
realistic, accurate, and downright fasci- 
nating — recommended! — DHA 




MANAGING 
YOUR MONEY* 

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VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 69 



SPECIAL REPORT 



Lo cal Area 

TYING COMPUTERS TOGETHER: 




Around the turn of the decade, the 
corporate world discovered the 
microcomputer. Emerging from a 
tradition of mainframe and minicom- 
puter terminals, executives found that 
pairing this small, relatively inexpen- 
sive, stand-alone unit with a spreadsheet 
offered ease of use, convenience, and in- 



creased individual pro- 
ductivity. With the entry of venerable 
IBM into the market, they accelerated 
into the Information Age, expanding into 
word processing, databases, business 
graphics, and other software to boost 
the capabilities of their one-stop, desktop 
information centers. 

However, information must be dis- 
seminated to be truly effective. A typical 
business report often requires the skills 
and data of many people. The problem is 
to connect these separate microcomput- 
ers together to share data. The solution 
proves to be the local area network 
(LAN). 

An LAN is a collection of micro- 
computers and peripherals linked by a 
short-range, common communications 
path. It allows users to share files such as 
databases and spreadsheets and provides 
a cost effective method for sharing 
expensive peripherals such as hard disk 
drives and laser printers. 

Boundaries of the LAN 

Do not confuse LANs with multi- 
user systems. The distinction between 
the two is small, yet important. An LAN 
is a system that ties otherwise indepen- 
dent microcomputers together. A 
multiuser system uses a time-sharing 
scheme to link terminals. Once the 
exclusive province of mainframes and 
minicomputers, multiuser systems are 
fast being challenged by powerful micro- 
computers like the IBM PC AT, Tandy 
Model 1 6, and AT&T 3B2 series. 

In general, if a microcomputer (or 
workstation if you prefer mainframe ter- 
minology) executes programs with its 
own processor and in its own memory, it 
is part of an LAN. If a workstation uses 



only the processor and memory of a cen- 
tral computer, it is part of a multiuser 
system. In some cases, a microcomput- 
er-based multiuser system can be more 
effective than an LAN. However, for 
overall flexibility, expandability, and 
performance, an LAN is preferable. 
Private Branch jt 

Exchange (PBX) sys- 



tems are often 
considered and used 
as LANs. They fit, al- 
beit rather loosely, 
within the cate- 
gory of linking in- 
dividual and inde- 
pendent proces- 
sors and memory. 
However, PBXs are 
primarily phone sys- 
I terns that connect 
.microcomputers via 
modems (see the 
May 1985 Creative 
Computing for an in- 
depth look at modems), 
firing costs are extremely low, for 
you are transmitting over phone wires 
that are already in place. It is terrific for 
voice mail — integrating voice with 
data — but sharing the interoffice tele- 
phone system with data-sending com- 
puters can cause problems. Reliability is 
the most critical factor in evaluating 
PBXs. 

Transmission speed, even using spe- 
cial modems, is limited to around 64,000 
bits per second (bps), although some 
PBXs allow up to 128,000 bps. By com- 
parison, the AppleTalk LAN operates at 
230,400 bps, and the IBM PC Network, 
at 2 million bps. The 3Com Ethernet se- 
ries offers speeds up to 10 million bps. 
While the cost of installing a PBX is 
lower, an LAN generally offers superior 
performance. 



CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



■e 



Net works 

THE PRODUCTIVITY CONNECTION 



i 

E 
I 



The Year of the LAN 

LANs are not a new development. 
Xerox developed Ethernet at its Palo 
Alto Research Center back in 1976 to 
link several single-user minicomputers. 
However, the early LANs were quite 
similar to the early microcomputers: 
expensive, technically complicated, and 
requiring specialists 



to install and main- 
tain. As the concept and the systems 
evolved, LANs became less expensive, 
yet higher in quality; more flexible, yet 
easier to install; and more sophisticated, 
yet easier to use. And like the micro- 
computer market in general, LANs 
attracted the eye of industry giants. 
Indeed, 1985 may well be 
remembered as the year of the 
LAN. Industry giants IBM 
and Apple, as well as aspir- 
ing giant AT&T, all in- 
troduced LANs this 
year. Meanwhile, the 
smaller, established 
LAN manufacturers 
are scrambling to make 
their systems compa- 
tible, especially with the 
IBM network. 
Local area networking 
is still a fragmented field. According to 
Dataquest, a San Jose, CA, market re- 
search company, industry leaders 3Com 
and Corvus installed roughly 10,000 
LANs each, connecting a total of about 
1 50,000 microcomputers. Apple's much 
ballyhooed AppleTalk LAN, the Mac- 
intosh Office, is installed at 2500 sites 
linking approximately 7500 Macintoshes. 
Networked microcomputers, however, 
still represent a small percentage of the 
machines sold. 

The lack of a true industry standard 
is keeping many corporations from 
installing LANs. However, several an- 
alysts are predicting that the entrance of 
IBM into the market with its IBM PC 
Network Program may help set an LAN 
standard just as IBM set an operating 
system standard with PC/MS-DOS. 
Already, Microsoft has entered into 



agreements with 3Com and Unger- 
mann-Bass that will make those two 
companies' products (EtherSeries and 
Net/One, respectively) compatible with 
the IBM PC Network. 

Whether IBM sets a standard ^ 
and dominates the market remains 
to be seen, but analysts do agree 



that the LAN market will experi- 
ence tremendous growth. A Yan- 
kee Group study shows that 625, 
microcomputers were connected t! 
one type of LAN or another in 19847 
The company expects that number to 
grow to 7.7 million networked micro- 
computers in 1988. Dataquest predicts a 
46% compounded annual growth rate 
for LANs and LAN products through 
1988, which translates into roughly 7.1 
million networked microcomputers. 

Hardware LANmarks 

In its simplest form, an LAN is a 
group of microcomputers or work- 
stations connected by cables. The more 
sophisticated LANs include various pe- 
ripherals, interconnections with other 
networks, and aTiost of specialized 
components. However, no matter how 
complex the LAN, it boils down to in- 
dividual components performing spe- 
cialized functions. 

The term "server" is defined as a 
component that handles special tasks 
within an LAN. It can be either a micro- 
computer or a peripheral, and it caters to 
all the requests of the networked micro- 
computers. 

A disk server is a hard disk drive 
that is available to all networked com- 
puters. Usually, it is partitioned so that 
each computer accesses a particular pri- 
vate storage area. For all intents and pur- 
poses, it acts like an extra disk drive. 

Some disk servers allow certain sto- 
rage areas, dubbed public volumes, to be 
accessed by all workstations. In many 
cases, access to a particular file is limited 
to one workstation at a time. Depending 
on the LAN and the sensitivity of the 
data, changing the information in public 



Sharing Information 

and Equipment to 

Boost Prodi 

Russ Loci 





VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 71 



SPECIAL REPORT 




A LOCAL AREA M 



'SSARY 



Baseband: Transmission method 
without modulation. The signals take 
up the entire bandwidth (all fre- 
quencies) of the media. 

Bps: Bits per second. A measurement 
of transmission speed. 

Bridge: A connection between two 
, similar networks. 

Broadband: Transmission method 
with modulation. The signals can be 
separated into different frequencies; 
hence voice, data, and video can be 
transmitted over the same media. 

Bus: A network topology in which all 
connections branch out from one cen- 
\ tral line. All signals are available to 
each station. 

CSMA: Carrier Sense Multiple Ac- 
cess. A transmission protocol that re- 
quires each workstation to check and 
make sure that no other station is 
transmitting data. If two stations 
transmit data simultaneously, the 
data will be distorted. 

CSMA/CA: Carrier Sense Multiple 
Access/Collision Avoidance. The 
same as CSMA except a station will 
retransmit data when it does not re- 
ceive confirmation that the data ar- 
rived intact. 

CSMA/CD: Carrier Sense Multiple 
Access/Collision Detection. The 
same as CSMA/CA except stations 
stop transmitting data if two stations 
start sending data simultaneously. 
Each station waits a variable amount 
of time before retransmitting the 
data. 

Coaxial cable: A medium consisting 
of a central, insulated wire surround- 
ed by a concentric metal sheath. 

Fiber Optics: A medium consisting of 
glass fibers. Electrical signals are con- 
verted into light pulses, transmitted 
through the fibers, and converted 
back into electrical signals. 

Gateway: A connection between two 
dissimilar networks. 



Infrared: A new medium that sends 
signals via infrared radiation. 

ISO: International Standards Orga- 
nization. It devised the OSI LAN 
standard. 

LAN: Local Area Network. A collec- 
tion of microcomputers and periph- 
erals linked by a short-range, 
common communications path. It al- 
lows users to share files such as data- 
bases and spreadsheets and provides 
a cost effective method for sharing 
expensive peripherals such as hard 
disk drives and laser printers. 

Media: The physical pathways of an 
LAN over which the signals travel. 

Node: A connection on the LAN that 
can be a microcomputer, server, or 
network switching device. 

OSI: A standard developed by the 
ISO that divides network functions 
into seven layers. 

PBX: Private Branch Exchange. 
Essentially the interoffice telephone 
system. Often used as an inexpensive 
LAN. 

Ring: A network topology that ar- 
ranges all connections in a circle. All 
signals pass through each station on 
the network in turn. 

Server: A component, either a micro- 
computer or a peripheral, that han- 
dles special tasks within an LAN. 

Stan A network topology that con- 
nects all stations to a central server. 
All signals pass through the central 
server. 

Topology: The layout of the LAN, 
which determines the flow of signals 
throughout the LAN. 

Twisted-pair wires: A medium 
consisting of two intertwined copper 
wires. 

Workstation: A microcomputer on 
an LAN (in mainframe speak). 



volumes can be performed by any net- 
work user or be restricted to authorized 
network supervisors. 

A file server is a more sophisticated 
version of a disk server. The hardware 
remains much the same, except greater 
software control over the hard disk drive 
allows access to data by file name. The 
partitions may or may not be emplaced, 
and the software provides several layers 
of security to protect the integrity of the 
data. In more sophisticated LANs, two 
people at two separate workstations can 
access a file and update it interactively. 

Disk and file servers can be either 
dedicated or non-dedicated. If dedi- 
cated, the server processes only network 
operations and is not used as a work- 
station. A non-dedicated server per- 
forms double duty: it processes network 
operations and offers the option of run- 
ning applications like any other net- 
worked microcomputer. Since non-ded- 
icated servers divide their micro- 
processing power with stand-alone 
applications, dedicated servers often 
perform network operations faster than 
non-dedicated servers. 

Within a network, disk and file serv- 
ers can be designated as centralized or 
distributed. A centralized server is like a 
mainframe setup: all cables, connec- 
tions, and data lead directly to a single 
server. It generally handles many net- 
work requests simultaneously and offers 
increased security. The disadvantage of 
a centralized server is that if it becomes 
inoperative, the entire LAN goes down. 
Also, should the hard disk drive be dam- 
aged without adequate backup, all files 
could be irretrievably lost. 

Distributed servers make all 
networked microcomputers equal, 
allowing all workstations to function as 
disk or file servers. This type of network 
is more expensive, since each work- 
station is equipped with a server, how- 
ever, loss of one server and workstation 
will not affect the rest of the network. Se- 
curity may pose a greater problem in a 
distributed server network than in a cen- 
tralized server network. 

Key Components: Boards 

Just about every LAN requires you 
to insert an expansion board inside your 
computer to connect to the network. The 
boards usually contain a microproces- 
sor, a signal converter, and a network 
interface controller. In the case of the 
IBM PC Network, the Network Adapt- 
ers include an Intel 80188 micro- 
processor, Intel 82S86 communications 
controller with modem, and Sytek serial 



72 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Electronic Driver 




interface controller. 

The major exception to this expan- 
sion board requirement is the Macintosh 
on the Apple Talk network. Cables hook 
directly into the serial port because Ap- 
ple has included networking circuitry in- 
side the Macintosh. 

Some companies, notably The Soft- 
ware Link of Atlanta, GA, avoid boards 
by using the RS-232C port for network- 
ing communications. Its LANlink pro- 
gram places the logic that normally 
resides on the controller chip onto a disk 
and also in the server. The advantage, 
according to Gary Robertson, director 
of marketing for The 
Software Link, is 
shorter installation 
time and lower over- 
all cost. 

The "local" in 
LAN refers to geog- 
raphy. Unlike nation- 
wide computer net- 
works like Tymnet 
and Telenet, LANs 
are usually limited 
to a single building. 
However, network- 
ing distance can be 
stretched to connect 
to outside networks 
with various hard- 
ware components. 

A repealer acts 
like an amplifier and 
retransmits signals 
down the line. A bridge also retransmits 
signals, but usually between two different 
LANs. A router is a more sophisticated 
signal retransmitter that takes longer to 
forward signals between LANs than a 
bridge, but determines where messages 
should be forwarded. A gateway con- 
nects networks that use different proto- 
cols and may also connect an LAN to a 
mainframe. 

Media: The Aisles of LAN 

In LAN lingo, the electronic path- 
ways connecting the various compo- 
nents are called media. In most cases, the 
connections are made with twisted-pair 
wires or coaxial cable, although fiberop- 
tic technology is quickly encroaching on 
the traditional media, and infrared tech- 
nology looms on the horizon. 

Twisted-pair wires consist of two in- 
sulated and shielded copper wires 
wrapped around each other. They are 
much like telephone wires and carry 
both voice and data. Indeed, both AT&T 
and Apple use twisted-pair wiring for 
their respective StarLAN and Apple- 



Talk LANs. This flexible wire is by far 
the easiest to install, move, and expand, 
and it costs much less than coaxial cable 
and fiber optics. 

On the negative side, signals travel- 
ing through twisted-pair wires lose 
power with distance unless extended 
with repeaters. Signals maintain a reli- 
able speed of up to only 1 million bps. 
Twisted-pair wiring is extremely suscep- 
tible to electromagnetic interference and 
radio frequency interference (EMI/ 
RFI) and offers poor security unless in- 
stalled within a specially protected 
(expensive) enclosure. 



Amplifying and Decoding Electronics 
Output 



Light ^1 

/\ 1 1 Optical Fiber ^ 

■^^ Core ( hidihnv <^^ 



LED 



Core Cladding 



Photodiode 



Signal 



In a simple fiber optic setup, a sig- 
nal from the microcomputer is sent to 
the driver (sometimes called a con- 
verter), which transforms the signal 
into light pulses. For short transmis- 
sion distances, a light emitting diode 
sends the pulses into the optical fibers. 
For long distance transmission, a semi- 
conductor diode laser is used. 

The optical fiber is made of glass 
and consists of two parts. The core 



serves as the conduit for the light 
pulses. The cladding, the opaque por- 
tion of the fiber, surrounds the core and 
prevents pulses from escaping. 

At the receiving end, the light 
pulses strike a semiconductor photo- 
diode. A decoder translates the pulses 
back into electrical signals, and an 
amplifier boosts the signal into the 
microcomputer. 



Coaxial cables are the same as those 
used by cable TV stations. An outer in- 
sulating layer surrounds a metallic 
sheath. Inside the sheath is an inner in- 
sulating layer that encloses a thick cen- 
tral wire. The sheath and central wire 
share the same curvature, hence the term 
coaxial cable. 

Three types of coaxial cable are 
used: trunk, a high quality cable for long 
stretches; feeder, to come close to the 
microcomputer; and drop, the smallest 
and most flexible cable that hooks di- 
rectly to the microcomputer. You might 
think of the cables as roads — trunks are 
county highways, feeders are residential 
roads, and drop cables are driveways. 
Any medium beyond the gateway is an 
interstate. 

Coaxial cable costs more than 
twisted pair wiring, and installation is 
more difficult because of the relative in- 
flexibility of the cable. However, coaxial 
cables allow signals to travel faster, pro- 
vide greater resistance to EMI/RFI 
noise than twisted pair wiring, and can 
carry video signals in addition to data 



and voice. The IBM PC Network uses 
coaxial cable. 

Fiber optics is a relatively new, yet 
promising technology for LAN media. 
Whilea twisted pair wire or coaxial cable 
LAN sends signals by shooting electrons 
along a wire, a fiber optic system changes 
electrical signals into pulses of light and 
transmits them along hair-thin lengths 
of glass. 

AT&T, ITT, Corning Glass, GTE, 
and NEC all manufacture optical fibers. 
In essence, the manufacturing process 
involves withdrawing hair-thin fibers 
from a glass tube. A gas torch deposits 
various chemicals on 
the glass and alters 
the refractive index 
of the glass. 

The resulting 
fiber consists of two 
parts: the core, 
which passes the 
light pulses (signals) 
along, and the clad- 
ding, an opaque lay- 
er surrounding the 
core, which pre- 
vents light from es- 
caping. 

The Telecom- 
munications Pro- 
ducts Division of 
Corning Glass 

Works displays a 
working fiber optic 
LAN at its Corning, 
NY, office. It connects about 30 DEC 
Rainbows and a handful of IBM PCs to a 
DEC VAX superminicomputer. It is not 
a commercial product, but a showpiece 
of fiber optic technology. See the sidebar 
for a sample fiber optic connection. 

On a more practical front, compa- 
nies like Ungermann-Bass of Santa 
Clara, CA; Siecor Fiberlan of Research 
Triangle Park, NC; Fibercom of Roa- 
noke, VA; and Codenoll Technology of 
Yonkers, NY, are already marketing fi- 
ber optic components for LANs. 

Unfortunately, fiber optics is such a 
new technology, the industry lacks a 
broad base of skilled technicians. The 
cost is much higher than either twisted 
pair or coaxial systems and optical fibers 
are generally point to point connections; 
they cannot be tapped into easily for 
expansion. Also, the capacity of a fiber 
optic system, at 3 billion bits per second, 
versus the transmission speed of a micro- 
computer, even at 19,200 bits per sec- 
ond, represents quite a bit of overkill. 

On the other hand, fiber optic sys- 
tems are virtually immune to EMI/RFI 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 73 



SPECIAL REPORT 




and serve best in a heavy in- 
dustrial area. The speed of light 
is certainly a fast enough trans- 
mission speed, and signals re- 
main strong over long distances. 
Optical fibers are thin and light- 
weight, provide high data secur- 
ity, and pose no fire hazard. 

Still in its infancy, infrared 
technology may help end the 
cable clutter of LANs. Several 
companies are exploring this 
area. Becos Industries of Camp- 
bell, CA, has developed an 
infrared communications de- 
vice that attaches to an RS-232 
port. It permits up to 99 chan- 
nels of simultaneous communi- 
cation at a data transmission 
speed of 400,000 bps. 

American Band Stand 

In the LAN world, the de- 
bate over whether to use base- 
band or broadband media is as 
hot as whether Lite Beer from 
Miller is less filling or tastes 
great— and as important. To 
the end user, it matters little. 
To the technical wizards, it 
matters a lot. 

In baseband, one signal 
occupies the transmission me- 
dia, and all terminals receive 
the same frequency. In broad- 
band, signals can be divided 
into different frequencies, so 
many signals can occupy the 
medium at once. Like a radio, 
you can tune into a specific 
frequency, in effect creating a 
mini-network within an LAN. 
While broadband requires more 
electronics, it also can transmit 
TV, security, and other signals. 

Thedrawback is that broad- 
band cables are usually unidi- 
rectional, which means you 
need two cables to connect 
each station. New techniques 
are being developed to use half 
the frequencies for outgoing 
signals and the other half for 
incoming signals. Of course, 
that reduces the number of 
frequencies available by half — 
and then some because you 
need a buffer between the out- 
going and incoming signals. 

Who will win the debate? 
It is hard to say. Baseband 
certainly deserves respect, es- 
pecially because Apple and 
AT&T have thrown their weight 



behind it. But wait a minute. IBM has 
chosen broadband, and if any company 
has the potential to break down walls 
and influence the market, it is Big Blue. 
For now, the game remains tied. 

The Lay of the LAN 

The scheme of creating an LAN and 
linking all the components together is 
called a topology. In theory, three main 
topologies dominate the market: bus, 
star, and ring. However, in practice, 
some manufacturers are fusing two 
topologies together to increase perfor- 
mance. 

The bus network (sometimes called 
a tree network) consists of a single cable 
with taps for each microcomputer and 
peripheral. As a result, expanding the 
system is exceptionally easy, and the 
LAN will continue to operate if a single 
workstation malfunctions. However, 
bus networks often require a minimum 
distance between taps to reduce noise. 
Furthermore, tracking down a sus- 
pected fault in the system means check- 
ing every component of the system, or at 
least every component between a pair of 
repeaters. A bus network is excellent for 
sending short messages. 

A star network uses point-to-point 
paths between a centralized host and the 
microcomputers and peripherals. All 
communications funnel through the 
central host. Maintenance can be simple 
or catastrophic. If one of the work- 
stations malfunctions, you can pinpoint 
trouble immediately. If the central host 
malfunctions, the entire LAN shuts 
down. A star network is good for shared 
databases, but is not well suited for sim- 
ple message switching. 

A ring network consists of a circle of 
microcomputers and peripherals. It of- 
fers a faster response time than the other 
two topologies, and all stations con- 
stantly monitor the system. While a ring 
network offers greater equipment reli- 
ability, loss of one station may shut down 
the entire system. It is difficult to service 
and even more difficult to expand. 

Enter the Fast LANe 

LAN manufacturers employ a vari- 
ety of schemes to place signals into the 
LAN and keep them from getting 
crossed. For most people, the method 
does not matter as much as the perfor- 
mance, but subtle differences in the 
schemes affect performance. 

Polling is most often used in the star 
topology. The master network server 
waits for a signal from one of the micro- 
computers and then processes it. 



CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Reservation, another favorite for 
star topologies, permits the transmission 
of signals at preselected times. Note that 
reservations occur several times per sec- 
ond. If another signal has exceeded its re- 
served time, that signal has priority on 
the network and any new signals must 
wait for an opening. 

Slotted ring, used in ring topologies, 
passes a master signal (called a frame) 
from station to station. This frame, a se- 
ries of bit patterns, marks the beginning 
and end of a signal and holds its destina- 
tion. The transmitting microcomputer 
grabs the frame, inserts a signal, and 
sends it into the network. The signal goes 
to its destination, where the receiving 
station replaces the signal with a 
verification code and sends the frame 
back to the transmitting microcomput- 
er. The transmitting microcomputer 
takes the code out, marks the frame 
empty, and passes the frame into the 
LAN, where the next station grabs it and 
the process begins anew. This is a most 
inefficient system, for it requires much 
reading and replacing. 

A more efficient scheme is token 
passing. The token is much like the 
frame. However, once grabbed, the 
transmitting microcomputer alters the 
bit patterns to indicate that a signal is 
coming and then inserts the signal. The 
receiving station takes out the signal and 
recreates the original bit patterns. The 
token then goes to the next 
microcomputer. 

Contention schemes, popular on bus 
topologies and some star topologies, 
come in three types and follow the idea of 
first come, first served. Common Sense 
Multiple Access (CSMA) lets a micro- 
computer determine whether any other 
station is transmitting, and if not, starts 
transmitting itself. This scheme carries a 
real danger of two stations starting to 
transmit simultaneously, especially on 
an LAN with a long bus. 

CSMA /Carrier A voidance attempts 
to minimize crossing signals. When two 
stations do transmit at the same time, the 
signals are sent garbled, but the senders 
retransmit when they fail to receive an 
acknowledgement that the signal was re- 
ceived perfectly. The AppleTalk LAN 
uses this scheme. 

CSMA /Collision Detection also at- 
tempts to minimize crossing signals. 
When two stations do transmit at the 
same time, they both immediately stop 
transmitting and wait a variable length 
of time before retransmitting. The 
Ethernet, AT&T StarLAN, and IBM 
PC Network LANs use this scheme. 



Standard Woes 

As we said before, the LAN market 
lacks a true standard. In a strict sense, 
this is not exactly true, for at least three 
organizations have put forward loose 
definitions of LAN standards. Please 
note that because two protocols are 
blessed by the same organization they 
cannot necessarily communicate with 
each other; witness the rush by LAN 
manufacturers to make their LANs 



T. 



he main advantage 
of an LAN is the 
ability to share 
expensive peripheral 
devices and files. 



compatible with the IBM PC Network. 

The International Standards Or- 
ganization (ISO) offers the Open System 
Interconnection (OSI) reference model. 
It consists of seven layers, each of which 
controls a particular LAN function or 
feature. The first three layers are con- 
cerned with data transmission and rout- 
ing; the last three are geared to user 
applications; and the fourth provides an 
interface between them. The layers are: 

• Physical: governs the electrical 
connections of the hardware. 

• Datalink: activates, monitors, 
and controls hardware. 

• Network: establishes, maintains, 
and terminates connections; routes and 
addresses data. 

• Transport: interfaces between 
first and last three layers; selects data 
routes. 

• Session: controls paths between 
stations; controls identification and 
authorization functions. 

• Presentation: formats, encodes, 
decodes, and otherwise prepares data for 
top (applications) layer. 

• Applications: the programs with 
which the user works: database, word 
processing, electronic mail, etc. 

Meanwhile, the Consultative Com- 
mittee for International Telephone and 
Telegraph (CCITT) adopted the X.25 
protocol in 1976. The X.25 standardizes 
data transmission and routing (the phys- 
ical, datalink, and network equivalents 



! of the ISO/OSI standards). 

In addition, the Institute of Elec- 
trical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 
is forming another set of standards, 
including 802.4, an emerging industrial 
networking standard, and 802.5, a to- 
ken-ring standard. 

To LAN or Not to LAN 

So every business with a few com- 
puters needs an LAN, right? Wrong. 

Remember that the main advantage 
of an LAN is the ability to share expen- 
sive peripheral devices and files. If you 
do not intend to purchase laser printers 
and huge capacity hard disk drives, you 
have a good reason not to purchase an 
LAN. If your files do not require con- 
stant updating by many different people, 
an LAN is probably unnecessary. 

Do alternatives that satisfy long- 
range computing needs exist? Most 
definitely. 

If your company owns a mainframe 
or minicomputer with excess capacity, 
then hooking the microcomputer, either 
as a dumb terminal or as a smart termi- 
nal that can create, upload, and down- 
load data, may prove to be a solution. 

In the same vein, if you own a small 
business and need to hook up only a few 
workstations, a multiuser micro- 
computer may be the best solution. 

Telecommunications, that is, hook- 
ing up a modem to your computer and 
sending information over the telephone 
lines, can also be an inexpensive and 
fairly reliable solution. This can be the 
previously mentioned PBX system or a 
common, off-site network. Here at Cre- 
ative Computing, columnists and some of 
our editors upload their files to 
CompuServe or MCI Mail. At our end, 
we download, edit, and format the file to 
our specifications — rather a neat and in- 
stantaneous solution. 

Finally, if your computers and soft- 
ware are compatible, you can simply 
pass around the disks holding the rele- 
vant files. 

However, sometimes none of these 
alternatives provides the flexibility, ease, 
and speed of an LAN . Perhaps you really 
do need to share a laser printer, hard disk 
drive, and files. And perhaps the elec- 
tronic mail feature itself is worth its 
weight in gold. The array of choices 
available staggers the imagination, and 
the technical pitches by silver-tongued 
salesmen require the wisdom of Solomon 
to decipher and understand. The task is 
formidable, but not insurmountable, 
providing you consider certain aspects of 
LANs. 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 73 



SPECIAL REPORT 



Local Area Networks 



STANDARDS 



Presentation 



Session 



In 1977, the International Standards Organization char- 
tered a special committee to devise a set of standards for 
network equipment. The result of the study is the Open System 
Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model, which pro- 
vides guidelines to those who design, manufacture, 
purchase, and operate local area networks. 

The OSI Model divides a network into a struc- 
tured hierarchy of seven layers, with each layer 
precisely defining a function of the network. Note 
that although distinctions are made between 
functions, the boundaries between layers are 
not as strict when implemented on network 
hardware. A single expansion board may, 
and often does, perform several functions. 
The OSI Model is more a theoretical 
framework than iron-clad rules. Man- 
ufacturers are not required to follow 
its concepts, however, those that de- 
part from the standard risk incom- 
patibility with other networks. 

Like a wedding cake, each 
layer builds upon the one be- I 
low it. The first three— phys- I 



Appli- 
cation 



Transport 



Network 



Datalink 



ical, datalink, and network— 



Physical 



lay down the rules for data transmission and 
routing. The physical layer defines the elec- 
trical connections of the hardware. The data- 
link layer sorts the data into strings of charac- 
ters and readies it for sending. The network 
layer establishes routes for the data. 

The fourth layer— transport— is an inter- 
face between the first three layers and the last 
three layers— session, presentation, and appli- 
cation. The transport layer selects the route 
the data will take between two terminals. The 
session layer coordinates the flow of data, iden- 
tifying and authorizing users to operate on the 
system. The presentation layer prepares the 
data for the application layer. The applications 
layer holds the actual program, like a word 
processor or database. 

Note that two different local area networks 
that conform to the OSI Model may not neces- 
sarily be able to communicate with each other. 
The rush to conform to the recently released 
IBM Network may help solve the incompat- 
ibility problem.— RSL 



PLANning 

Of course, your networking require- 
ments will differ from others. The nice 
thing about LANs is that they can be 
custom designed to fit your needs. How- 
ever, before settling on a particular 
LAN, consider the following general ar- 
eas. 

An LAN must provide good perfor- 
mance for each type of application you 
intend to run. If you cannot run a data- 
base program correctly or efficiently, 
then an LAN is practically worthless. 

It should include the option of 
installing gateways to outside networks, 
especially the System Network Archi- 
tecture (SNA) "standard" from IBM. 
Although it is not an LAN standard, 
more and more LANs are hooking up to 
SNA networks. 

Make sure the LAN supports se- 
curity functions. This is not meant to 
keep 1 5-year-old hackers out as much as 
to protect the integrity of the data from 
accidental change or erasure by LAN 
users. You also may want to allow only 
certain people access to personnel and 
payroll files. 

The network should be easy to 
maintain. This is probably the biggest 
bugaboo of LANs to date and a nebulous 
topic at best. Different topologies re- 
quire different maintenance strategies. 
Different companies possess differing 
views about maintenance. New technol- 
ogies offer more risk (and gain) than old 



technologies. In general, when installing 
the LAN in the first place, provide quick 
identification of each component and 
easy access to them with adequate space 
around them. Let the idea that the sys- 
tem should be kept up and running and 
the down time minimal be your guiding 
light. 

As a corollary to easy maintenance, 
an LAN should be easy to expand. This 
means both adding microcomputers and 
peripherals and replacing and upgrading 
those already on the network. 

Finally, the LAN must be available. 
Instead of releasing a complete network 
at once, companies are marketing bits 
and pieces. IBM released the networking 
hardware and then made us wait for the 
software. The AT&T StarLAN network 
will not be close to completion before 
mid- 1986. You have a choice between 
waiting for a "new," improved LAN and 
purchasing and gaining the benefits of an 
"old" LAN immediately. 

These general guidelines are fine for 
the strategic overview, but certain, spe- 
cific recommendations will help your 
tactical decisions. 

Electronic mail is a feature that 
should be on every LAN. The ease and 
speed of sending an electronic memo 
without wasting paper and time should 
not be overlooked. You should be able to 
store, edit, discard, forward, reply, and 
send multiple copies of electronic mes- 
sages to recognizable addresses. An 



added feature is the ability to set up an 
interactive link to send real time mes- 
sages (similar to telephoning a person). 
These messages are not stored, but are 
good for coordinating activities. 

An efficient and capacious print 
spooler is a must for those sharing a 
printer. In many LANs, print spooling 
means one person sends output to the 
common printer and the rest are denied 
access and forced to transmit output at a 
later time. Sitting around waiting for the 
printer to become available is neither 
pleasant nor efficient. In such situations, 
a print spooler with a large buffer is a 
must. 

Make sure the LAN you buy sup- 
ports the microcomputers you intend to 
connect. The IBM PC Network is de- 
signed to support the IBM PC family. If 
you own Compaqs, Zeniths, Leading 
Edges, or other compatibles, the PC Net- 
work may not support your clone. On 
the other hand, a non-IBM LAN will 
generally support IBM compatibles as if 
they were IBM PCs. 

This idea extends to linking dif- 
ferent brands of microcomputers. Al- 
though all can share the network, div- 
iding the hard disk into separate sections 
for dissimilar operating systems (as most 
LANs do) limits file compatibility. In ef- 
fect, only like computers can use like 
files. This gets back to the discussion of 
disk sharing versus file sharing. Sharing 
just a disk decreases cost, but sharing 



76 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



files increase productivity and commu- 
nication. 

Centrum Systems West of Berkeley, 
CA, claims its Tops LAN accommodates 
Macintoshes; IBM PCs and compatibles; 
Tandy TRS-80 Models 4, 12, 16, and 
2000; CP/M; and Unix machines to share 
files. If so, and if Tops does so speedily, 
Centram may be offering the solution to 
the incompatibility problem. 

Finally, consider the installation it- 
self. For example, what are you going to 
do with all those cables? Leaving them 
lying around turns the office into Dr. 
Frankenstein's laboratory — not to men- 
tion creating an accident-prone area and 
a fire hazard. Do you place them in un- 
aesthetic cable trays or hide them in a 
dropped ceiling? Or a raised floor? How 
about a cellular floor with a spiderweb of 
conduits under the floor — expensive, 
but it provides maximum coverage. As 
you can see, just creating the layout of an 
LAN, the cables, microcomputers, and 
peripherals, requires careful planning. 
Even then, you must allow for expansion. 

LANimation 

So much for the hardware consid- 
erations. However, like a micro- 
computer, an LAN is but a lifeless 
interconnection of equipment and cables 
without networking software. Unlike a 
microcomputer, your choice of network 
software is limited to the network you 
purchase. This condition may not last 
long after IBM releases its Network Pro- 
gram and Microsoft releases its highly 
compatible MS Network Software. 

In general, the software should be 
simple enough for a novice to negotiate 
without becoming tedious for the experi- 
enced user. It should include a logical 
environment in which operations are 
executed in a straightforward manner. 
Working within certain parameters, it 
should be interactive enough to let you 
know where you are, what you are doing, 
and how to accomplish a particular task. 

Often, vendors advertise that their 
software operates with all types of mi- 
crocomputers and operating systems. 
While this is technically true, be sure to 
verify this claim with an actual 
demonstration. Quite often, the conver- 
sion utilities supplied with the system are 
dreadfully slow, which can cause a bot- 
tleneck in LAN operation. 

Pricing LANguage 

The cost of an LAN varies with the 
number of stations. The more micro- 
computers you add to an LAN, the lower 
the cost per station. 



In general, media costs will be a few 
cents per foot of twisted-pair wire, a dol- 
lar or two per foot for coaxial cable, and 
roughly $10 per foot for fiber optics. 
Equipment connections will run $5, $40, 
and $50, respectively. Network adapter 
expansion boards run in the $500 to $700 
range. 

The other parts of the system are 
less uniform in price. Perhaps the best 
way to start pricing LANs is to look at a 



W« 



ith most vendors 
quoting on uninstolled 
systems, your final total 
.can be substantially 
higher than the sum 
of the components. 



configuration for a specified number of 
stations — four, eight, twelve, or what- 
ever you intend to install. 

Installation costs are often shadowy 
figures. With most vendors quoting on 
uninstalled systems, your final total can 
be substantially higher than the sum of 
the components. And finding out about 
hidden costs — for example, using teflon- 
coated cable to comply with fire codes 
— can be close to impossible. 

Fortunately, some vendors are try- 
ing to help potential customers evaluate 
their costs. Quadram offers first-time 
prospective purchasers a free program 
called Selectnet, which asks pertinent 
questions about your proposed LAN. It 
then goes on to pitch Quadram's offer- 
ings, but the sales spiel is subordinate to 
the educational value. Ungermann-Bass 
fields an entire network design team that 
provides prospective customers with 
quotations on network design and ma- 
terial needs. 

Unlike a microcomputer applica- 
tions program, which carries one price 
because it operates on one machine, 
networking versions carry different 
price structures. So far, two pricing poli- 
cies are emerging as winners: per win- 
dow and per user. 

Per window means that the software 
allows a maximum number of windows 
to be opened on the network at once. 
Sorcim/I US charges for the program it- 
self and then charges a variable fee for a 



master network software manager. For 
example, $395 allows up to four win- 
dows on the system, while $595 lets you 
open eight windows. A single user could 
open all windows at one station, or, 
could close one or two to allow another 
user on. 

Per user means that the software 
price is related to the number of stations. 
For example, MultiMate charges $595 
for one user to use its word processor on 
an LAN, $1 195 for two users, and $295 
per user thereafter. Cosmos charges 
$950 for one user, $1495 for up to four 
users, $2995 for up to 10 users, and 
$4995 for up to 32 users of its Revelation 
database management system. 

Charting New LANs 

With all those LANs available, and 
an even greater number of LAN ven- 
dors, it is a buyer's market. The LAN 
Comparison Chart accompanying this 
article was taken from PC Communica- 
tions, a three-volume monthly updated 
reference service available from Data 
Decisions, 20 Brace Rd., Cherry Hill, NJ 
08034,(609)429-7100. 

The best way to obtain information 
from manufacturers and vendors is to 
write directly to the vice president of 
marketing, mention you read about their 
product in Creative, and request an 
information kit. In the case of Quadram, 
you may also want to ask for the free pro- 
gram Selectnet. The more information 
you have at your fingertips, the more 
prepared you will be to select the LAN 
that best fits your needs. 

LAN Ho! 

Buying and installing an LAN 
represents a significant investment in 
both time and money, especially when 
you consider the cost of training people 
to use it. However, that is only one part 
of the process. You must evaluate your 
needs, assess future growth, consider the 
size and cost, and devise an overall plan. 
Once you figure out what you want your 
LAN to do, you start the research phase 
and investigate the plethora of products, 
multitude of manufacturers, and variety 
of vendors. 

The task is formidable, but not in- 
surmountable. Networked micro- 
computers improve the flow of 
information, save money on peripherals, 
and propel us into a new era of the 
Information Age. Networks are the 
brave new world of office communica- 
tions, and the productivity riches wait- 
ing in the promised LANd more than 
offset t he effort it takes to get there. ■ 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 77 



SPECIAL REPORT 



Loc al Area Netwo rks 

COMPARISON CHAR T 



COMPANY • PRODUCT 



/•#% 



Altos Computer • WorbNet 
Apple • AppleTalk 
Applifek • UnilAN 



AST Retearch • AST-PCnet 
AST Research • AST-PCnet II 
AT&T • Station 



Autocontrol • AC Soft/Net 
Braegen e ELAN System 
Bridge • Ethernet Systems Prod. 



Charles River • UniverseNet 
Complex. Systems • XLAN 
Computer Automation • SyFAnet 



Concord Data • Token/Net 
Contel Info Systems • ContelNet 
Convergent Tech • Ethernet 




• 




• 






«* <t^\ 






Convergent Tech • RS-422 Net 
Corvus Systems • OmniNet 
Datapoint • ARC 



It 



Digitol Microsystems • HiNet 

Fox Research • 10- NET 

Gateway Communications • G/NET 



Gould e MOD WAY 
IBM e PC Network 
IDEAssociates • IDEAnets 



IDEAssociatas • IDEAshare 
Interlan e Net/Plus-Ethernet 
Interian • Net/Plus-NTSIO 



M/A-COM Linkabit • ID X 3000 
Magnolia Microsystems • MAGNet 
Micom e INSTANET 








1 



Mollard Systems • Power Port 
Nestar Systems e Plan Series 
Network Research • FUSION 



; 



Novell e Netware/S 
Orchid Technology e PCnei 
Proteon • ProNET-1 



Protean e PreNET-80 
Quadrom • Quadnet VI 
Quodram • Quadnet IX 



e e e e 

e e e e e 

e e e 

e e e 



Rocal-Milgo • Planet Token Ring 
Santa Clara • SCS Network 
Siecor Fiberlan • Net 10 



Space Coast • Space Server 
Standard Data • STANDARONET 
Standard Microsystems • Arcnet 



Star Technologies ■ ST AR • NET 
Syntax e VAX/VMS Ethernet 
Syntax • localNet/PC Technology 



I 



Tangent Tech e Thinklink 
TCS Software • Q'NET 
Tecmar • El AN 



Tienet • TIENET 
Ungermann-Bass • Net/On. 
VLSI Networks • 1 S53-NET 



: 



XCOMP e XNet 

Xerox e Ethernet 

Xyplex e The X YPIEX System 



- 



Zilog e Ethernet Comm Interface 

Ztel e PNX 

3COM e Ether Series 



78 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 







• • • • 









• • • 

• • • 



• • • 



• • • 



• • • • 









• • • 

• • • 

• • • 

• • • 

• • • 

• • • 



• • • • • • 

— I; TTT 






• • • 



» » 

• • • 

• • • 



Chart information courtesy Data Decisions 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 79 



Local Area Networks 


MANUFA CTURERS 


Allot Computers 

2641 Orchard Pkwy. 
San Jose, CA 95 134 
(408)946-6700 


Corvus Systems 

2029 O'Toole Ave. 
San Jose, CA 951 31 
(408) 559-7000 


Nestar Systems 

2585 E. Bayshore Rd. 
Palo Alto, CA 94303 
(415)493-2223 


Sytex 

1225 Charleston Rd. 

Mountain View, CA 94043 

(415)966-7330 


Apple Computer 

20525 Mariani Ave. 
Cupertino, CA 950 14 
(408)996-1010 


Datapoint Corp. 

9725 Datapoint Dr. 
San Antonio, TX 78284 
(512)699-7000 


Network Research 

1101 Colorado Ave. 
Santa Monica, CA 90401 
(213)394-7200 


Tangent Technologies 

5720 Peachtree Pkwy. 
Norcross, GA 30092 
(404)662-0366 


Applitek Corp. 

1 07 Audubon Rd. 
Wakefield, MA 02 146 
(617)246-4500 


Digital Microsystems 
1 840 Embarcadero 
Oakland, CA 94606 
(415)261-1034 


Novell Inc. 

1 170 N. Industrial Park Dr. 
Orem, UT 84057 
(800)453-1267 (801)226-8202 


TCS Software 

6100Hiltcroft 
Houston, TX 77081 
(713)771-6000 


AST Research 
2 1 Alton Ave. 
Irvine, CA 927 14 
(714)863-1333 


Fox Research 

7005 Corporate Way 
Dayton, OH 45459 
(513)433-2238 


Orchid Technology 
47790 Westinghouse Dr. 
Fremont, CA 94539 
(415)490-8586 


Tecmar 

6225 Cochran Rd. 
Solon, OH 44139 
(216)349-0600 


A TAT Information Systems 
100 Southgate Pkwy. 
Morristown, NJ 07960 
(201)898-8000 


Gateway Communications 
1 6782 Redhill Ave. 
Irvine, CA 927 14 
(714)261-0762 


Proteon Inc. 
4 Tech Circle 
Natick, MA 01 760 
(617)655-3340 


Tienet 

20 15 Tenth St. 
Boulder, CO 80302 
(303)444-2600 


Autocontrol 

1 1 400 Dorsett Rd. 
St. Louis, MO 63043 
(314)739-0055 


Gould Inc. 

P.O. Box 3083 
Andover, MA 01810 
(617)475-4700 


Quadrant 

4355 International Blvd. 
Norcross, GA 30093 
(404)923-6666 


Ungermann-Bass 

2560 Mission College Blvd. 
Santa Clara, CA 95050 
(408)496-0111 


Braegen Corp. 

525 los Coches St. 
Milpitas, CA 95030 
(408)945-1900 


IBM Entry Systems 
P.O. Box 1328 
Boca Raton, FL 33432 
(305)982-3326 


Racal-Milgo 

1601 N.Harrison Pkwy. 

Sunrise, FL 33323 

(305)475-1601 


VLSI Networks 

263 1 Manhattan Beach Blvd. 
Redondo Beach, CA 90278 
(213)536-0781 


Bridge Communications 

1345 Shorebird Way 
Mountain View, CA 94043 
(415)969-4400 


Ideassociates 

35 Durham Rd. 
Billerica, MA01821 
(617)663-6878 


Santa Clara Systems 

1 860 Hartog Dr. 
San Jose, CA 95131 
(408)287-4640 


Xcomp 

4223 Ponderosa Ave. 
San Diego, CA 92 123 
(619)573-0077 


Charles River Data 

983 Concord St. 
Fromingham, MA 01 701 
(617)626-1000 


Interactive Systems 

P.O. Box 33600 
St. Paul, MN 55133 
(612)733-9817 


Siecor Fiberlan 

P.O. Box 12726 

Research Triangle Pork, NC 27709 

(919)544-3791 


Xerox Corp. 

800 Long Ridge Rd. 
Stamford, CT 06904 
(203)329-8700 


Complexx Systems 
4930 Research Or. 
Huntsville, AL 35805 
(205)830-4310 


Interlan Inc. 

3 lyberty Woy 

Westford,MA01886 

(617)692-3900 


Space Coast Systems 

301 S. Washington Ave. 
Titusville, FL 32796 
(305)268-0872 


Xyplex 

100 Domino Dr. 
Concord, MA 01 742 
(617)371-1400 


Computer Automation 

1800 Jay Ell Dr. 
Richardson, TX 75081 
(214)783-0993 


M/A-Com Linkabit 
3033 Science Park Rd. 
San Diego, CA 92121 
(619)457-2340 


Standard Data Corp. 

3040SW10thSt. 
Pompano Beach, FL 33069 
(800)327-5567 


Zilog 

1315 Dell Ave. 
Campbell, CA 95008 
(408)370-8000 


Concord Data Systems 

303 Bear Hill Rd. 
Wolthom, MA 02 154 
(617)890-1394 


Magnolia Microsystems 

4039 2 1st St. 
Seattle, WA 98 199 
(206) 285-7266 


Standard Microsystems 

35 Marcus Blvd. 
Hauppauge, NY 11788 
(516)273-3100 


Ztel 

181 Ballard Vale St. 
Wilmington, MA01887 
(617)657-8730 


Contel Information 

130 Steamboat Rd. 
Great Neck, NY 11024 
(516)829-5900 


Micom Systems 
4 100 Los Angeles Ave. 
Simi Volley, CA 93063 
(805) 583-8600 


Star Technologies 

5 Studebaker 
Irvine, CA 927 18 
(714)768-6460 


3Com 

1390 Shorebird Way 
Mountain View, CA 94043 
(415)961-9602 


Convergent Technologies 

2500 Augustine Dr. 
Santa Clara, CA 95051 
(408)945-8877 


Mollard Systems 
1977 O'Toole Rd., B- 106 
San Jose, CA 951 31 
(408)280-7900 


Syntax Systems 
6642 S.I 93rd PI. 
Kent, WA 98032 
(206)251-8438 





SO CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



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¥>u've 



ays 



an 



ear for music. 

Ncwyouhave a 

mindforit 



Compose yourself. And do anything 
else with music that you have in mind. With 
the computer that has a mind for music, 
Yamaha's CX5M. 

The CX5M is the first computer with 
true musical talent. The first and only 



computer with an FM digital tone generator 
(the same kind used in our DX synthesizers) 
built into it. For incredible musical accuracy 
and realism. 

Also built into the CX5M is a polyphonic 
synthesizer program with 46 preset voices 



and b rhythm patterns including drums, bass 
and synchronized chords. A sequencer with 
a 2000-note memory/playback capacity. And 
user-selectable parameters for editing the 
preset voices. So if you have something else 



computer, it inns MSX cartrk 
tape programs. So in addition to music, you 
can work your finances. Write letters. Take 
a break from that musical score and rack up 
a score of a different kind on a video game. 



MPMOTHWHi 

But maybe the voices you hear in your 
head are vastly different from the preset 
voices. Buy the optional FM Voicing Program 
and you increase programming power by 
leaps and bytes. With this increased power 
you can extensively edit the preset voices. 
As well as create totally new ones. 

Other music software programs avail- 
able for the CX5M include the FM Music 
Composer which lets you create musical com 
positions in up to eight parts with complete 
control over voices, volume, expression mark 
ings, tempo, and key and time signatures. 

An FM Music Macro Program which 
lets you take advantage of the voicing and 
performance potential of the CX5M within 
the framework of an MSX" Basic program. 

And a DX7 Voicing Program. (More on 
this in another ad.) 

And because the CX5M is an MSX 



musician-friendly machine. 

And a well connected one, too. Its exten- 
sive input/output jacks and ports let you 
save edited and created voices, scores and 
programs on cassette tape. Print out scores, 
voice parameters, letters, charts and graphs 
in hard copy. And connect the CX5M to any 
MIDI-compatible piece of equipment. 

What else can the CX5M do? What else 
did you have in mind? 

For the answer, see your authorized 
Yamaha Professional Products retailer. Or 
call 1-800-821-2100 and ask for Operator 
CIO. In Canada, write: Yamaha Canada 
Music Ltd., 135 Milner Ave., Scarborough, 
Ontario MIS 3R1. 



MSX adrmarki 

Videomonitor. KM Musk C«m 



v\ VK lo ke) board shown atv optional. 



©YAMAHA 




WHAT'S NEW 



The latest in hardware and sof tware/Russ Lockwood 



Dick Tracy II 




Topaz Power 

Conditioners 

Topaz has introduced the Line 1 
Power Conditioner and Line 2 Power 
Conditioner to protect computers 
against electrical noise and voltage 
fluctuations. The Line 1 provides a maxi- 
mum of 1 32 dB of common-mode noise 
attenuation and up to 95 dB of normal- 
mode noise attenuation. In addition, the 
Line 1 can reduce input voltage by 5% or 
boost it 7.5% to assure consistent volt- 
ages. The Line 2 corrects voltage to 
within -8% and +4% of normal rated 
voltage for input variations of 90 VAC to 
138 VAC. 

The Line 1 carries a suggested retail 



Our June 1985 cover story featured 
the Seiko Wrist Terminal for the IBM 
PC. Seiko has announced the same sys- 
tem for the Apple II series. It retails for 
$199. 



Seiko 

1 330 W. Walnut Pkwy. 

Compton, CA 90220 

(213)603-9550 



GROT 420 ON 
READER SERVO CARD 



Hayes Intelligent Buffer 

Hayes Microcomputer Products 
has released the Transet 1000, a 
multifunction print and telecommunica- 
tions buffer that can simultaneously 
send and receive data via modem while 
sending data to a printer. It also serves as 
a 24-hour-a-da y mailbox capable of stor- 
ing electronic messages even while the 
computer is off. 




Surge Protector 

Tripp Lite has introduced the Spike 
Bar, a $49.95 power spike and noise 
suppressor with six outlets. 



Tripp Lite 

500 N.Orleans St. 

Chicago, IL 60610 

(312)329-1777 



ORO.E424 0N 
READER SERVICE CARD 



Zoom Modem 

Zoom Telephonies has announced 
the Zoom Modem PC 1200, a 1200/300 
baud internal modem for the IBM PC 
family. It includes the "demon dialer" 
function, which automatically redials 
busy numbers until it connects; a voice 
synthesizer interface; touchtone recog- 
nition; and Hayes compatibility. Zoom 
promotes the PC 1 200 as the "first open 
architecture modem" and notes that the 
hardware can be customized and con- 
trolled by modifying its EPROM firm- 
ware using the high-level Zoom 




Command Language. The modem re- 
tails for $429. 



Zoom Telephonic* 

207 South St. 
Boston, MA 021 11 
(800)631-3116 
(617)423-1072 



dRClE4220N 
READER SERVICE CARD 




price of from $335 to $1085, depending 
on power rating, and the Line 2 costs 
from $410 to $1590, also depending on 
power rating. 



Topaz 

9 150 Topaz Way 
San Diego, CA 92 123 
(619)279-0831 



ORCIE4230N 
READER SERVO CARD 



Other features include date-time 
stamping, overflow control, dynamic 
memory allocation, E-mail scanning, 
print formatting, space compression, 
and collated printing. The Transet 1000 
connects to the IBM PC, Apple He, and 
Apple Macintosh and retails for $399. 

Hayes Microcomputer Products 

P.O. Box 105203 

Norcross, G A 30348 aRaE 42| ^ 

(404)441-1617 READER SERVICE CARD 



Check Out These 
Newsletters 

Camden Communications pub- 
lishes a group of computer-specific 
newsletters and magazines which are 
generally not available on newsstands. 
Geneva News, for example, is a 12-page 
newsletter for owners of the Epson Ge- 
neva. The first issue contains informa- 
tion on the RS-232 interface, WordStar 
patches, communications protocols, and 
BIOS calls in Basic. 

Camden titles include Geneva News 
(monthly), Epson World (quarterly, cov- 
ers QX-10, QX-16, and printers), Pro- 
fessional Computing (bi-monthly, covers 
HP micros), Data General Micro World 
(DG/One), Portable 100/200 (Tandy 
portables), and Tandy 2000. 

Camden Communications 

Highland Mill 
Camden, ME 04843 



84 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Hard Disk Board 




Plus Development has unveiled the 
Hardcard, a 10Mb hard disk on an 
expansion board that plugs into the IBM 
PC. The $1095 Hardcard comes com- 
plete with electronics, controller, and 
file management and installation son- 
ware. 

Plus Development 

1778 McCarthy Blvd. 

Milpitas, CA 95035 oboe 4» on 

(408)946-3700 reader servo card 



C Itoh Printers 

C. Itoh has introduced several new 
printers. 

The $ 1 295 Pro Writer 24LQ is a 24- 
pin printhead, dot matrix printer that 
prints 200 cps in draft mode, 1 30 cps in 
memo quality mode, and 67 cps in letter- 
quality mode. It includes seven-color 




printing capability and can produce 
graphics resolution of up to 360 x 360 
dots per inch. It includes a 16K buffer, 
tractor and friction feed, and either a 
Centronics parallel or serial port. 

The $549 ProWriter 8510S plus 
NLQ, a 180 cps dot matrix printer with 
2K buffer, is compatible with the IBM 
PC family and the Apple Macintosh. 

The $299 ProWriter jr., designed 
for the IBM PC and Apple II families, is 
a 105 cps dot matrix printer with a 
Centronics parallel port. It includes a 
built-in printer stand and is software 
programmable in nine languages. 



CHoh 

19750S. Vermont Ave. 
Torrance, CA 90502 
(800)423-0300 



flRClE4260N 
READER SERVO CARD 



Databases 

CDA International Software has 

released Datamaster, a $495 database 
management system for computers run- 
ning CP/M, MP/M, PC/MS-DOS, and 
Oasis operating systems. It provides 
mixed fields, linked screens, modifiable 
record structures, and a report 
generator. 

CDA International 

14900 Ventura Blvd. 

Sherman Oaks, CA 9 1403 0RaE4270N 

(818)986-3233 reader servo card 

Postley Software has announced 
DBS/Experience, a database manage- 
ment system for 64K IBM PCs and 
compatibles. It features fast retrieval 
time, a "ditto" key to copy information 
between records, selective updating, 
arithmetical computations on stored 
data, expandable fields, and a report gen- 
erator. It retails for $345. 

Pot tley Software 

6855 Hayvenhurst Ave. 
VanNuys,CA91406 ORaE4280N 

(818)781-2912 reader servo card 



Basic XE for Atari 

Optimized System Software has re- 
leased Basic XE programming language 
for the Atari XE line. Basic XE contains 
new commands, is compatible with 
Atari Basic, addresses the extra RAM of 
the XE computer, and runs Basic pro- 
grams two to six times faster than Atari 
Basic. Basic XE, with reference manual, 
OSS Supercart ridge, and extension disk, 
sells for $79. 

OSS 

1221 B Kent wood Ave. 

San Jose, CA 95 129 orcie4290n 

(408)446-3099 reader servo card 



Apple II Fantavision 

Broderbund has announced Fanta- 
vision, a special effects generator and 
full-screen animation system for the Ap- 
ple II. Artists can draw two shapes and 
the program will generate the interven- 
ing shapes to create smooth animation. 
The suggested retail price is $49.95. 



Broderbund 

17 Paul Dr. 

San Rafael, CA 94903 

(415)479-1170 



OROE430ON 
READER SERVO CARD 



Business Graphics 

Analytics International has re- 
leased version 2.0 of MonoGra/x, a busi- 
ness graphics program for IBM PCs 
with monochrome monitors and with- 
out graphics adapters. The program cre- 
ates organizational charts, calendars, 
bar charts, schedules, and flow di- 
agrams. It can import ASCII text, works 
with a color adapter, includes pull-down 
menus, and supports 50 dot matrix 
printers. MonoGrafx runs on a 128K 
IBM PC and retails for $69.95. 

Analytic* International 

1 365 Massachusetts Ave. 

Arlington, MA 02 1 74 orcie 431 on 

(617)641-0400 READER SERVO CARD 



Business Accounting 

Decision Support Software has re- 
leased The Business Accountant, a gen- 
eral ledger package for small business 
owners. It interfaces with Lotus 1-2-3, 
VisiCalc, and Multiplan; includes two 
Federal tax templates; and provides 
profit and loss statements, financial 
analysis, and other reports. It requires a 
256K IBM PC with graphics adapter 
and sells for $295. 

Decision Support Software 

1300 Vincent PI. 

McLean, VA 22101 

(703)442-7900 orcie 432 on 

(800)368-2022 reader servo card 



Computerizing Law 
Offices 

The American Bar Association has 
set up the Legal Technical Advisory 
Council (LTAC) to test computer soft- 
ware for law offices. LTAC expects to re- 
view from 40 to 60 software systems per 
year covering the areas of timekeeping 
and billing, litigation support, database 
access, word processing, and docket and 
office management. 

LTAC's first review (of TABS III 
and Trust Accounting System from Soft- 
ware Technology) is 28 pages long. Re- 
ports cost $10 each for ABA members 
and $25 for non-members. 

For more information, contact 
Richard L. Robbins, LTAC, American 
Bar Association, 750 N. Lake Shore Dr., 
Chicago, IL 60611, (312)988-5637. ■ 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 83 



& 



ir 



m 




atttHTaiiH 




THE CMO ADVANTAGE 



^ THE BEST PRICES! 

^ Next day shipping on all in slock 
items. 

*■ Free easy access order inquiry 

<* Orders Irom outside 

Pennsylvania and Nevada save 
state sales tax 

■* Free techmcial support with our 
factory trained technical staff 

.- There is no limit and no deposit 
on COD orders 

* There's no extra charge for 
using your credit card Your card 
is not charged until we ship 

k- No waiting period for cashiers 
checks 

v We accept purchase orders from 
qualified corporations Subject to 
approval. 

k» Educational discounts available 
to qualified institutions 

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ORDER LINE 



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in pa 1-800-242-4215 

CUSTOMER SERVICE 
& TECH SUPPORT 

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MAILING ADDRESS 



Computer Mail Order 
Dept. A3 10 

477 East Third Street 
Wilhamsport. PA 17701 

«?# 

ocMncm 
CREDIT CARDS 



HOME COMPUTERS 



MODEMS 




SHIPPING ammm 

Add 3%, minimum $500 shipping 
and handling on all orders. Larger 
shipments may require additional 
charges 

All items subject to availability and 
price change 

Returned shipments may be sub- 
ject to a restocking fee 



CANADIAN ORDERS 



1-800-268-3974 

Ontario/Quebec 

1-800-268-4559 

Other Provinces 

1-416-828-0866 

In Toronto 

TELEX: 06-218960 

2505 Dunwin Drive. 

Mississauga. Ontario 

Canada L5L1T1 

All prices shown are for U.S.A. 

orders 

Call The Canadian Office for 

Canadian prices 



ATARI 



1 30XE (1 28K) CALL 

S20ST (S12K). CALL 




HOOXI S4K 




CALL 


M'»0 ImI.-iI.m .■ 




$119 00 


ioiii it. 






I0M Dak I). iv. 




SUM 00 


1025 Doi M.iin« 


I'lHlll'l 


$199 99 



111// I I'll. i Ou.ilily I'linli'i 
1030 l)i"-il C "III" I Mmli'in 



8036 Atari Writer $29 99 

Slai Raiders $5 99 

Missile Command $599 

Defender $5 99 

Galaxian $5 99 

Dig Dug $5 99 

Donkey Kong $599 

Jousl $5 99 

Eastern Fionl $5 99 

BOARDS FOR ATARI 

Anion 32K $3999 

Anion 48K (400) $69 99 

Axlon 12BK $26999 

Hit 3 Full View 80 $229 00 



APPLE 

Si 



APPLE Me 
APPLE lie 

Macintosh 

lie LCD Display 



CALL 
CALL 
CALL 
CALL 



Macintosh Software 

Lotus J.i// CALL 

Microsoft Excel CALL 

Microsoft Business Pak $375 00 

Living VMootsxt 

Think Tank 512 $159 00 

Manhattan Ready Set. Go $79 99 
Crslghton Development 

Mac Spell $69 99 

Monogram Dollars & Sense $99 99 
Poachtraa Back lo Basics GL$109 00 
PES Tile * Report (New versron)$129 00 
Silicon Bosch Airborn $25 99 



£z commodore 

C128 Computet SNIW 

CI571 (Disk Drim lor C12SI SNFW 

CI902 IRGB 13' Monitor lor C12C) $NEW 
C1670 (Mortem lor C1?D SHEW 

Commodore Plus 4 $19900 

CBM 64 $149 00 

C1541 Disk Drive $199 00 

CI 530 Datasette $39 99 

M 801 Dot Matrix Primer $16900 

MCS 803 Dot Matrix $179 00 

CI 702 Color Monitor $199 00 

C 1660 Aulo Modem $59 99 

DPS 1101 Daisy Printer $339 00 



PORTABLE COMPUTERS 



rYolcMsocMl Software 

Fleet System II w/Spell.' $49 99 

Trivia Fever $29 99 

Word Pro 4 Plus/5 Plus each $239 00 
Into Pro $179 00 

Administrator $399 00 



File (64) 
Report (64) 



&» 



$59 99 
$49 99 



PRECISION SOFTWARE 

Superbase 64 $54 99 

iwnwO*' i'«r, 

PaperClip w/Spell Pack $79 99 

The Consultant DBMS $69 99 

Bus Card II $139 00 

80 Col Display $139 00 



IV! 



HEWLETT 
PACKARD 

41CV $189 99 

41CX $249 99 

HP 71B $419 99 

HP 11C $62 99 

HP 12C/15016C $89 99 

HP 75D $949 00 

HPIL Module $98 99 

HPIL Cassette or Printer $359 99 

Can) Rimiiit $143 99 

Extended Function Module $63 99 

Time Module $63 99 

We stock the full Unm of 
HP calculator products 

SEC 

PC-8401 CALL 

PC 8201 Portable Computer $289 00 

PC 8231 Disk Drive $599 00 

PC 8221A Thermal Primers $149 00 

PC 8281 A Data Recorder $99 99 

PC 8201 06 8K RAM Chips $105 00 



SHARP 



DISKETTES 



maxell 

3'V SS/DD 

3Vi ' DS/DD 

51* " MD 1 w/Hardcase 

5'V MD2 w/H , 

V. MD-2-HD lor AT 



iTJ Urtnii 



PC- 1350 




$159 99 


PC 1261 




$159 99 


PC 1260 




$109 99 


PC 1500 A 




$165 99 


PC I250A 




MM N 


CE-125 Pr 


nter/Cassetle 


$128 99 



CE 150 Color Printer Cassette $171 99 
CE 161 16K RAM $134 99 



5'V SS/OO 
S'< DS/DD 
Disk Analy/er 



Elephant 5'V SS/SD 
Elephant 5'V SS/DD 
Elephant 5'V DS/DD 
Elephant Premium DS/DD 



$39 99 
$54 99 
$1799 
$23 99 
$44 99 



$21 99 
$29 99 
$24 99 



$1399 
$15 99 
$16 99 
$23 99 



SV«" DS/DD Floppy Disks 

(Box ol 10) $25 99 

DISK HOLDERS 

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS 

Flip-in File 10 $3 99 

Flip-in-File 50 $17 99 

Flipin-Filo 50 w/lock $24 99 

Flip-in File (400/800 ROM) $1199 

AMARAY 

50 Disk Tub 5'V $999 

30 Disk Tub 3''/ $8 99 



afllNCHOR 

Volksmodem $59 99 

VcJksmodem 300/1200 $18999 

Mark XII (1200 Baud) $25900 

Signalman Express $299 00 

Lightning 2400 Baud $399 00 

©Hayes 

Smartmodem 300 $139 00 

Smartmodem 1200 $389 00 

Smartmodem 1200B $359 00 

Smartmodem 2400 $629 00 

Micromodem lie $14900 

Smart Com II $89 99 

Chronograph $199 00 

Transet 1000 $309 00 



Reach 1200 Baud H.ill C.iril $399 00 

fnPP miCROBITS 

MPP 1000E AD/AA (Atari) $79 99 

MPP 1064 AD/AA (C 64) $69 99 

Novation SB 

Smart Cat Pin-. $319 00 

J Cat $9999 

Novation 2400 CALL 

Apple Cat II $229 00 

212 Apple Cat II $379 00 

Apple Cat 212 Upgrade $229 00 

Macmodem $319 00 

UUAIJrV\M 
Quadmodem II 

300/1200 $339 00 

300/120072400 $499 00 

TELELEARNINC 

C64 300 Baud (Closoout) $39 99 



GRAPHICS 



^Phoala 



IBM 
Apple/Franklin 



m n 

$79 99 



■Polaroid 

Palette $1299 00 



DRIVES 



HARD 
AU0JT 

CALL 

llrT.VMKIJHN 

9 mag AVMiovraManfitama] $t399 00 
io mag t ixad/li $1249 00 

. rbks/tOI ■■•<1$?149 00 
■ : $2499 00 

I-Mr&V 

10 Mikj Bernoulli Bon $2099 00 
20 meg Bernoulli Box $2599 00 
5 meg MacNoulli $1599 00 

ftAiLGaats 
TfCHHOLOOIfS 

12. 25. 35. 50. 80 meg (PC) 

Irom $1499 00 

FLOPPY 

Atari GT INDUS B19M 

C-64 GT $229 00 

At 5 Apple m ^^^ m $179 00 

A2 Apple $17900 

mmT\-'rm 

SD1 C-64 Single $21900 

SD2 C-64 Dual $469 00 

landon 

320K 5'V (PC) $119 00 

TEAC 

320K 5'V $109 00 



MONITORS 


Amcek 


$129 00 


300 Amber 

310 Amber IBM Plug 


$139 00 
$169 00 




$179 00 


Color 500 Composite/RGB 
Cokx 600 Hi Res (640x240) 
Color 700 Hi Res (720x240) 
Color 710 Long Phosphor 
Color 77? IBM EnhanciKl 


$389 00 
$399 00 
$499 00 
$579 00 
$579 00 



12' Amber/Green Composite $9999 

12" Amber/Green TTL (ea)$1l900 

NEC 

JB 1260 Green $59 99 

JB 1201/1205 (oa)$99 99 

JB 1270 Green $139 00 

JB 1275 Amber $149 00 
JB 1280 G TTL/1285 A TTL $149 00 

JC 1410 RGB $669 00 

I-RINCIITUN 

MAX I2E Amber $189 00 

HX-9 9" RGB $469 00 

HX9E Enhanced $51900 

HX-12 12" RGB $469 00 

HX-12E Enhanced $559 00 

SR 12 Hl-Res $599 00 

SR 12 P Enhanced $649 UU 

* IAXAX 

115 12" Green Mono $119 00 

116 12" Amber Mono $119 00 

121 Green TTL $139 00 

122 Amber TTL $14900 
420 Hi Res RGB (IBM) $429 00 
440 Ulna Hi Res RGB $559 00 

8400 Ouadchrome I $47900 

8410 Quachrome II $429 00 

8420 Amberchrome $179 00 

8500 Quad Screen $149900 

ZVM 1220/1230 I $99 99 

ZVM 1240 IBM Amber $149 00 

ZVM 130 Color $269 00 

ZVM 131 Color $249 00 

ZVM 133 RGB $429 00 

ZVM 135 RGB/Color $459 00 

ZVM 136 RGB/Color $599 00 



INTERFACES 



Multi I/O (Apple II) $189 00 

SSsxsssn <7QQ . 

Graphcard ^^ $79 99 

Senall Card $99 99 

MicrobuMnr II t $169 00 

Microbuller 32K $189 00 

Microla/ei Irom $139 00 

Eta/er (Epson) Irom $79 99 

JgOrange micro 

Grappler CO (C64) $99 99 

Grappler . (Apple) $89 99 

Grappler 16K » (Apple) $159 00 

DIGITAL DEVICES 

Ape Face (Alan) $49 99 

U Print A (Atari) $54 99 

U A16/Buller (Atari) $74 99 

U CaM Interlace (Atari) $39 99 

U Print C (C64) $49 99 

P 16 Print Butler $74 99 

U Print II Apple lie $89 99 

TTMAC 

C64 Epson $59 99 

C64 Okidata $59 99 

C64 Star $57 99 



PRINTERS 



Canon 

A40 CAII 

1BPBA1 Lata* CALL 

#citizf:n 

MSP 10 (80 col ) $299 00 

MSP- 15 (132 col ) $429 00 

MSP-20 (80 col ) $469 00 

MSP 25 (132 col ) $599 00 

C.ITOH 

Pruwriler /SOO $21900 

Pruwnti-r 85I0P $299 00 

Prnwtilef 8510 NLO $329 00 

Prownter 1SS0I' $449 00 

Sl.uwriter 10 :«) $459 00 

corona 

La/er LP-300 $2799 00 



PC COMPATIBLES 



DIABLO 

D25 Daisywheel $549 00 

630-109 Daisywheel $1749 00 

D801F Daisywheel CALL 

d*sywntor 

2000 $749 00 

EPSON 

LX-80. LX90. FX-85. FX 185 

JX 80. DX-10. DX 20. SO 2000 

HS 80 Homewnter 10 CALL 

JUKI 

6000 Letter Quality CALL 

6100 Letter Quality CALL 

6300 Letter Quality CALL 

NEC 

8027 transportable $299 00 

2000 Sones S699 00 

3000 Series $109900 

8000Ser.es $1449 00 

ELF 360 $449 00 

OKIDATA 

84. 182. 192. 193. 2410 CALL 
Okimale 10 (Specify C64/Atari)$189 00 

OKimate 20 (IBM) CALL 

OLYMPIA 

Needlepoinl Dot Matrix $299 00 

Compact RO $339 00 

Compact 2 $369 00 

Panasonic 

KX1091 $259 00 

KX1092 $389 00 

KX1093 $479 00 

OuatBal $399 00 

Quad Laser c:AII 

cjt SUXER-REEO 

500 Loiter Quality $279 00 

550 Letter Quality $419 00 

770 Leller Quality $759 00 

Mar 

SG 10C (C64 Interlace) $NEW 

SB/SD/SG/SR Sern ■■. CALL 

Powerlype Letter Ouality CALt 

Texas Instruments 

T1850 $529 00 

T1B55 $799 00 

T1B65 $1049 00 

TOSHIBA 

1340 (80 column) $889 00 

P351 (132 column) $1149 00 



IBM PC SYSTEMS 

Configured to your 

specification. 
Call for Best Price! 

IBM PC. IBM-PC II, IBM-XT, IBM AT 



SOFTWARE FOR IBM 



OAUUo 

Electric Desk IBM PC $19900 

VI III A -I.-M1 ■ 
Framework $369 00 

dBase III $369 00 

prion woo 

Turbo Pascal 3 $49 99 

Siiti'kK ll $39 99 

CENTRAL POINT 
Copy II PC Backup $29 99 

DECISION RESOURCES 
Cliarlrnastnr $259 00 

Stgnmntai $17900 

FOX * QELLER 

Ourckcode III $169 00 

FUNK SOFTWARE 
Sideways $39 99 

♦ I lai xiinl Siliwaix' Ilk'. 
Harvard Protect Manager $209 00 

Total Projecl Manaqer $269 00 

Human Kcltfe™ 

Communication Edge $99 99 

Management Edge $1 19 00 

Negotiation Edge $139 00 

Sales Edge $119 00 

LIFETREE 

Volkswritsr Duluxe $159 00 

LIVING VIDEOTEXT 

Ihink Link $109 00 

• Lotus 

Symphony $439 00 

1-2-3 $309 00 

MECA SOFTWARE 

Managing Your Money $10900 



Crosstalk XVI $89 99 

Microstul Reni< $89 99 

^ ■ WW:! I ' l l 

R Base 4000 $259 00 

RBase 5000 $399 00 

Clout 2 $129 00 

WordStar 2000 $249 00 

WordStar 2000 < $309 00 

WordStar Professional $299 00 

Word R*CR©SOrT. $23g „„ 

Mouse $139 00 

Flight Simulator $39 99 

MultiPlan $129 00 



Multi M.ite Word Proc $249 00 

NOUMENON 
Intuit $69 99 

NORTON 
Norton Utilities 3 $59 99 

Peachtext 5000 $169 00 

PeachPack (GL/AP/AR) $219 00 

If" 

Access '""" $79 99 

Writo/Graph/File/Plan (ea) $79 99 

Report $74 99 

Prool $59 99 

Professional Software 

Worilplus PC w/Riiss $249 00 

ROSE SOFT 
Prokey $89 99 

THE SOFTWARE GROUP 
Enable $339 00 

SATELLITE SYSTEMS 
Word Perfect 4 $219 00 

SOflCIM/IUS 

Accounting 

AP/AR/GL/INV/OE (ea ) $295 00 

SuperCalc III $195 00 

I asyWriler II System $195 00 

Supor Proiocl $195 00 

sn 

Open Access $379 00 

TMOUOHTWARE 

Trigger $289 00 
l Sell 
training $299 00 
Appac a Mon $179 00 



S.it.in (7300) CALL 

6300 CALL 

corona 

PPC400 Dual Portable $1289 00 

PPCXT 10 meg Portable $1989 00 

PC40022 Dual Desktop $1389 00 

ITT 

lit XTRA 

256K. 2 Drive System CALL 
256K. 10 meg Hard Drive SystomCALL 

(SANYO 

.' Single Drive $699 00 

MBC 555 ? Dial Onve $969 00 

MBC 775 Portable $159900 

MBC 51 1 10 meg CALL 

MBC 675 Portable CALL 

MBC 880 Desktop CALL 



CAII 
CALL 
CAII 
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EDUCATION 



Spreadsheets in the 



Using Supercalc to teach algorithms in mathematics/Samuel W. Spe 



ro 



Countless businessmen and -women 
have proved that the spreadsheet 
program on a personal computer is 
one of the quintessential problem solving 
tools in today's office. What many teach- 
ers of mathematics have yet to discover is 
that the same spreadsheet can be used as 
a problem solving tool in the classroom. 

Students of mathematics have long 
struggled to learn the algorithms that 
govern numerical methods. Working 
out the problems by hand, even with a 
calculator, is often too time-consuming 
for all but the most trivial examples. 
Programming the algorithms in Basic, 
Fortran, or Pascal requires a knowledge 
of computer programming that many 
students lack. Using "canned" pro- 
grams which require the student simply 
to enter data and equations does not help 
him learn the algorithm. 

The electronic spreadsheet, how- 
ever, offers an ideal compromise. It is a 
legitimate computer language which the 
student can use to articulate an al- 
gorithm. It eliminates tedious calcula- 
tion. Yet it is as easy to use as paper and 
pencil. 

The example I use to illustrate the 
use of the spreadsheet in theclassroom in 
this article relates specifically to 
Supercalc. The concepts presented, how- 
ever, can be applied to virtually any 
spreadsheet urogram with only minor 
modifications. 

Getting Started 

The spreadsheet may be thought of 
as a grid (see Figure 1). Columns are 
identified by letters, while rows are 
identified by numbers. The intersection 
of a row and a column, designated by the 
column letter and the row number (B24, 
for example, is the intersection of col- 
umn B and row 24), is called a cell. All 
the action in a spreadsheet takes place in 
the individual cells. 

The cursor, which can be moved 
about the spreadsheet with the arrow 
keys, marks the active cell. When some- 
thing is typed on the keyboard, it appears 
in the active cell. 

Whatever is typed on the keyboard 
in Supercalc appears on the third of three 
lines located just beneath the spread- 
sheet on the computer screen — the edit 
line. Special commands allow you to edit 
entries on this line both before and after 



J 


A II B II C II II E 


1 1 


F 1 


1 G 1 


1 1 










2! 










31 










41 










51 










61 










7! 










81 










91 










101 










11 1 










Figure 1. 


: 
1 ■ 


A 1! B 1! C II II E 


1 1 


F 1 


! G 1 


2! 










31 Sol 


ving a Sat of 3 Equation* in 3 Unknown* 








SI 










6.' 










7! 










81 










91 










10! 










11 1 










Figure 2. 


i 


A II B il C II II E 


1 1 


F 1 


! G ! 


1 1 










21 










31 Sol 


ving a S»t of 3 Equations in 3 Unknowns 








SI 










6ITh« 


Equations 








71 










8I3X 


► 21Y + iZ - -30 








91 










101 X 


► 2Y - 2Z - 7 








11 1 










12I2X 


► 8Y - Z - -2 








131 










Ml 










15ITh» 


Augmented Matrix 








161 










17! 


3 21 3 -30 








18! 


12-27 








19! 


2 8-1-2 








20! 











the information has been entered into the 
active cell. 

The first of the three lines is called 
the status line and shows the contents of 
the active cell. The amount of memory 
available is also indicated on this line. 

The second of the three lines is the 
prompt line. Here you find prompts that 
identify the type of information that can 
be entered. For example, when using the 

FORMAT, LOAD/SAVE.Or REPLICATE 



command, the various options available 
under each appear on the prompt line. 

Solving the Equations 

To enter alphabetic information, 
such as the title of your problem, you 
type a quotation mark followed by the 
information. To enter the information 
into the active cell, you press return. 
Let's get started by giving a title to our 
problem: Solving a Set of 3 Equations in 



18 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Classroom 



I A II B II C 

! The Augmented Matrix 



I I 



I I 



21 

2 
8 



-2 

-1 



-30 

7 

-2 



141 

131 

161 

17! 

181 

191 

201 

211 

22 1 Put * 1 in th» a (1,1) position 

231 

241 

251 

261 

27! 



A17/A17 B17/A17 C17/A17 D17/A17 
A18 BIB CIS DIB 
A19 B19 C19 D19 



Figure 7. 

3 Unknowns. See Figure 2. 

The three equations are entered in 
the same manner. Make A6 the active 
cell and type "The Equations. Then 
type "3X + 21Y + 3Z = -30 into A8, 
"X + 2Y-2Z=7 into A 10, and "2X + 
8Y-Z=-2 into A 12. Of course, you 
would press RETURN after each item to 
enter it, but I will not bother to mention 
that from now on. 

Numbers can be entered directly 



Figure 4. 


1 


A 


II B II C 


1 1 


D 


1 1 E 


1 




21! 
















221 Put a 


1 in the a < 1 , 1 > po 


sit ion 








231 
















24! 




1 7 


1 




-10 






251 




1 2 


-2 




7 






26! 




2 B 


-1 




-2 






27! 
















Figure 5. 


I 




A 1 ! B 


1 


1 

1 


C 


! 1 


D 1 


271 
















2BIPut zeroes in column 1 












291 
















301 


A24 


B24 




C24 




D24 




31 ! 


A25- 


A25*A24 B25-A25»B24 


C25- 


-A25*C24 


D25- 


-A25HD24 


32! 


A26- 


A26*A24 B26-A26*B24 


C26- 


-A26*C24 


D26- 


-A26*024 


331 
















Figure 6. 


! 


A 


II B II C 


1 1 


D 


! 1 E 


1 




271 
















28 1 Put zeroes in column 1 












291 
















301 




1 7 


1 




-10 






311 




-5 


-3 




17 






321 




-6 


-3 




IB 






331 

















without quotes. Enter the coefficients of 
the unknowns and values from the right- 
hand sides of the equations in matrix 
form as shown in Figure 3. 

In addition to text and numbers, 
formulas and transformations can also 
be entered. The variables in the formula 
are identified by the cell coordinates 
(e.g., A 1 7) of the values to be substituted 
into the formula. 

The method we will use to solve the 



I he spreadsheet is a legitimate 

computer language which students 

can use to articulate an algorithm. 



equations in this example is the Gauss- 
Jordan elimination technique. In this 
method, all but one of the unknowns are 
successively eliminated from each of the 
equations until what remains is a series 
of equations, each in a single unknown. 
Elementary row operations are used to 
reduce the matrix of coefficients to an 
identity matrix. The effect of this series 
of transformations on the augmented 
matrix is to transform the augmented 
column vector into the solution vector. 

To facilitate the elementary row 
transformations for computer solutions, 
the diagonal element in a particular row 
is reduced to 1 . This row is then used to 
reduce the other elements in the same 
column to 0. The procedure is repeated 
until the matrix of coefficients has been 
reduced to an identity matrix and the 
augmented column vector reduced to 
the solution vector. 

Starting with row 1, the entire row is 
divided by the value of the a(l,l) ele- 
ment, which in our example is 1, as in 
row 24 of the spreadsheet in Figure 5. 
The simple formulas used to generate the 
values in Figure 5 appear in Figure 4. 

The other elements in column 1 are 
then set equal to by an elementary row 
transformation. The elements in the first 
row are multiplied by the additive in- 
verse of the first element in the row being 
transformed, which in the example is -1. 
These elements in the first row are added 
to the elements in the row being trans- 
formed, the effect of which is to place a 
in the a(i, 1 ) position (where i is the num- 
ber of the row). This procedure, which 
yields the formulas in rows 3 1 and 32 of 
the spreadsheet in Figure 6, is repeated 
for every element in the first column as in 
Figure 7. 

In transforming the a(2,l) element, 
for example, we multiply the a( 1,1) ele- 
ment by a(2,l), subtract, and get a dif- 
ference of 0. We then repeat the trans- 
formation on every element in the 
second row. This transformation can be 
written as: 

a(2J)-a(2,l)*a(l,j) 
where j is the number of the column. 

This formula must be replicated for 
all elements in the second row, i.e., for j 
= 1 to 3. We do this in Supercalc using 
the replicate command. We need type 
only the formula for the first column; the 
formulas for the other columns can then 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 89 



EDUCATION 



1 


A 1 1 


B 1 1 


C 1 1 


D 1 1 


E 1 


1 F II 


G 1 


331 
















34 1 Put 


a 1 in 


the a(2,2> 


position 










331 
















361 


1 


7 


1 


-10 








371 





1 


.6 


-3.4 








38! 





-6 


-3 


18 








391 
















40 1 Put 


zeroes 


in column 


2 










41 1 
















421 


1 





-3.2 


13.8 








431 





1 


.6 


-3.4 








441 








.6 


-2.4 








431 
















461 Put 


• 1 in 


the •(3,3) 


position 










471 
















481 


1 





-3.2 


13.8 








491 





1 


.6 


-3.4 








301 








1 


-4 








311 
















52 1 Put 


zeroes 


in column 


3 










531 
















54! 


1 








1 








SSI 





1 





-1 








561 








1 


-4 








571 
















581 Solution set is 


< 


1 


-1 


-4> 




591 
















60 IX ■ 




1 












61 IV - 




-1 












621 Z - 




-4 













Figure 8. 



1 A 


! : b 


1 1 C 


II D II 


E 


331 










34 1 Put a 1 in 


the a(2,2) posit 


ion 






351 










36 1 A30 


■SO 


C30 


D30 




371 A31/B31 


B31/B31 


C31/B31 


D31/B31 




381 A32 


B32 


C32 


032 




391 










401 Put zeroes 


in column 2 








411 










421 A36-B36*A37 B36-B36SB37 


C36-B36IC37 


D36-B36*D37 




431 A37 


B37 


C37 


037 




441 A3B-B38«A37 B38-B3B»B37 


C3S-B38*C37 


D38-B38*D37 




451 










461 Put a 1 in 


the a<3,3> position 






471 










481 A42 


B42 


C42 


042 




491 A43 


B43 


C43 


D43 




30! A44/C44 


B44/C44 


C44/C44 


D44/C44 




511 










52! Put zeroes 


in column 3 








33! 










34! A4B-C48*A50 B48-C48*B30 


C48-C48*C30 


D48-C48*D50 




551 A49-C49»A50 B49-C49*B50 


C49-C49*CS0 


D49-C49*D50 




561 A50 


BSO 


CSO 


050 




571 










581 Solution sat is ( 


D54 D5S D56 


) 


591 










401 X - 


DS4 








61 ! V ■ 


DSS 








621 Z - 


D56 








Figure 9. 











be replicated with those factors that are 
to be treated relatively being treated rel- 
atively, and those factors that are to be 
treated absolutely not being changed at 
all. Larger nxn matrices are only slightly 
more time-consuming to calculate than 
our simple 3x3 example. 

The other columns and rows in the 
matrix are dealt with in a similar fashion. 
Figure 8 shows the applicable formulas, 
and Figure 9 shows the results of the 
manipulations. 

More Applications 

The lesson to be learned from the 
example presented here is that virtually 
no knowledge of traditional computer 
languages is necessary to program the al- 
gorithm. Because the goals of mathe- 
matics instruction do not include 
programming as an instructional objec- 
tive but do include practice in using al- 
gorithms to solve problems, the elec- 
tronic spreadsheet can be a very useful 
tool for students. 

Specific areas in which spreadsheets 
can be used in college algebra include the 
study of linear, quadratic, and general 
polynomial functions; matrices, and 
simultaneous equations. In calculus 
classes, spreadsheets can be used in the 
study of Newton's Method for solving 
non-linear equations, applications of the 
Trapezoidal Rule, Simpson's Rule, and 
other numerical integration algorithms; 
and infinite series. Techniques for solv- 
ing differential equations and for deter- 
mining inverses and determinants of 
matrices can also be explored using 
spreadsheets. ■ 



Computer 
Software 




". . . and that, my friend, 
is interactive fiction .' " 



»0 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



The Source Is Illuminating. 




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TUTORIAL 



Programs that 
Understand Language 

How they do it — syntax-directed methods/William Wright 



Language is an interaction between words. Arranging the 
same words in different ways causes different interactions: 
The boy abandoned his own dreams of happiness (Despair) 
The abandoned boy dreams of his own happiness (Hope) 
The interactions that occur in natural languages (our conver- 
sation and literature) are too complex for today's computing 
techniques. When we exchange information with a program, 
we must resort to an artificial language with simplified gram- 
mar and semantic rules. The purpose of this article is to explain 
several programming methods for understanding or parsing 
artificial language. These methods can't cope with natural lan- 
guage, but they do allow us to proceed with workaday applica- 
tions of language like compilers, question answering programs, 
and operating systems. 

An Overview 

Since a language allows different arrangements of the 
same words, it follows that a parser cannot apply the same for- 
mat specification to every sentence. An input statement like 
INPUT X, A$, Y is not true parsing — unless we consider the in- 
put to be a degenerated one-syntax-rule language. The follow- 
ing code is not parsing either, because it treats the input as a 
single unit rather than as a string of interacting words: 

INPUT AS 

IFA$ = "LET I =5"THEN . . . 

IFA$ = "LET I =6"THEN . . . 

IFA$ = "LET I =7" THEN . . . 

. . (etc) . . . 

Why examine words individually? For one thing, most 
languages have too many sentence possibilities. The dictionary 
of all legal sentences would quickly exceed the memory of any 
computer. Equally as important, constructing a dictionary of 
sentences would imply that we were able (and willing) to antici- 
pate all the ideas that the user of the language would want to ex- 
press. If languages were merely dictionaries of previously 
defined statements, we couldn't use them to express new ideas 
or ask new questions. 

The implications don't stop here either. If we must con- 
sider the assembly of individual abstractions (words) into com- 
plete ideas (sentences), then we are considering artificial 
intelligence. One of the enticements of language processing is 
that it allows (forces?) us to experiment with the ultimate com- 
puter application: machine intelligence. Most of the parsing 
techniques described in this article apply to artificial intelli- 
gence just as much as they do to language. 

For the remainder of this article, word will mean any 
character string that is an elemental unit of meaning in a lan- 



guage. Thus numbers (strings of digits) and arithmetic op- 
erators (such as -t- and -) are words in most programming 
languages. A sentence is any string of words that satisfies the 
rules of the language for sentences. 

An Introductory Parsing Automaton 

We use the term automaton or machine to suggest that the 
response of the parser to a sentence is automatic and predeter- 
mined. The automaton consists of a loop and a data table. The 
loop successively examines each word in the sentence and uses 
the information in the table to spot syntax errors, to translate 
the words, and to integrate the translations into a complete 
meaning for the sentence. The table is organized into rows. 
Each row is called a state and represents the rules (syntactic 
and semantic) for a unique use of a particular class of words: 

STATE 1: WORD1 ACTION 1 NEXT1 

WORD2 ACTION2 NEXT2 

WORD3 ACTION3 NEXT3 

ERROR ERR-MSG 



STATE5: WORD5 ACTION5 NEXT5 

WORD6 ACTION6 NEXT6 

ERROR ERR-MSG 

In a job control language, STATE3 might represent a use 
of filenames, while STATE6 might represent some other use of 
filenames. STATE2 might be a use of integers, and soon. 

WORD is the name (or other symbolic representation) of 
a subroutine that knows the spelling rules for a class of words. 
Typical word classes in a programming language might be: 
integer, floating point number, arithmetic operator, comment 
delimiter, variable name, or keyword. WORD examines the 
current word from the sentence and decides whether or not the 
word satisfies the spelling rules of the class. For example, the 
subroutine to test if the current word is a properly spelled inte- 
ger might look like this: 

SPELL=1 

FORL = 1 TO LEN( WORDS) 

IS=MID$(WORDS.L , 1) 

IF l$<"0"OR l$>"9"THENSPELL = 

NEXTL 

RETURN 
After calling this subroutine, the parser can check SPELL to 
see whether the spelling of the word was accepted or rejected 
( 1 = accepted, = rejected). 



92 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



The parser begins by calling WORD 1. If WORD 1 doesn't 
accept the first word of the sentence, the parser will call 
WORD2, and so on. If none of these states accepts, the parser 
will arrive at ERROR, which is a subroutine that prints the er- 
ror message named by ERR-MSG. 

On the other hand, if one of the states accepts, the parser 
will call the ACTION for that state. For example, if WORD3 
accepts, the parser calls the subroutine named by ACTION3. 
Action subroutines are part of the main program that called 
the parser originally. The parser is returning control to the 
main program for a few moments, so that the program can do 
something with the word. Depending on the application, the 
action might be as simple as storing the translation somewhere, 
or it might be a complex set of calculations. ACTION is where 
the semantic meaning of the word is analyzed. 

After ACTION returns, the parser moves to the state 
named by the NEXT of the accepting state. If WORD3 accepts 
and NEXT3 contains the name of STATE5, the parsing loop 
will begin at STATE5 when it examines the next word in the 
sentence. 

In summation, the table is a compact and convenient tech- 
nique for instructing the parser: "Once you identify something 
in the sentence (WORD), I will tell you what to do with it (AC- 
TION) and what to accept next from the sentence (NEXT)." 

A flow chart is shown in Figure 1 . We will discuss the 
BAD-ACTION box later. To illustrate the operation of the 
automaton, consider these two sentences from a hypothetical 
programming language: 

GO: INC SIZE 
BEQ GO 
In these sentences, GO and SIZEare symbolic names. INC and 
BEQ are executable instructions (increment and branch-if- 
equal). The table might look like this: 

STATE1: INSTRUCTION OUT-INSTR STATE6 



STATE2: SYMBOL 
ERROR 

STATE4: COLON 
ERROR 

STATE6: SYMBOL 
ERROR 



DEF-SYMBL STATE4 
NOT-INSTR 
OK-COLON STATE 1 
NOT-COLON 
LOOK-SYM 
NOT-SYMBL 



During a parse of the first sentence, the sequence of events 
would be: 

STATE 1 rejects GO because it isn't an INSTRUCTION 
STATE2 accepts GO because it is a SYMBOL, calls DEF- 
SYMBL, and then moves to STATE4 
STATE4 accepts : because it is a COLON, calls OK-CO- 
LON, and then moves to STATE 1 
STATE 1 accepts INC because it is an INSTRUCTION, 

calls OUT-INSTR, and then moves to STATE6 
STATE6 accepts SIZE because it is a SYMBOL, calls 
LOOK-SYM, and then exits (because NEXT = 0) 
For the second sentence, the events would be: 

STATE 1 accepts BEQ, calls OUT-INSTR, and then 

moves to STATE6 
STATE6 accepts GO, calls LOOK-SYM, and then exits 

(because NEXT = 0) 
In this hypothetical language, symbolic names have two 
different usages, and the automaton calls a different ACTION 
for each usage. When the symbol begins a sentence (as in GO:), 
the symbol defines a location in the source code, and the 
automaton asks DEF-SYMBL to make a record of the loca- 



Rfjure L Flow chart for introductory automat on. 



( Start J 



Initial. le INPUT POINTER to the first word in Hi* sentence and 
T ABIE POINTER to the lirtt state of the parsing table. 








Print 
ERR-MSG 



-T Abort J 



Cor) the WORD for the state 




Carl the ACTION for the state 




BAD 
ACTION 



<^>KI^D 



Select the NEXT for the state 
as the new TABLE POINTER. 



Move INPUT POINTER past the 
input that WORD occepted. 



Advonce STATE POINTER to t 
next state in the toble. 











tion. When the symbol follows an instruction (as in BEQ GO), 
the symbol is a reference to a location defined elsewhere, and 
the automaton asks LOOK-SYM to look it up. 

Moving from one state to another is called transition, 
suggesting that the expectations of the parser will change each 
time it recognizes a word in the sentence. Initially the autom- 
aton expected either an instruction or a symbol (STATE1/ 



NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 93 



TUTORIAL 



STATE2). After recognizing a symbol (GO), the automaton 
expected only a colon (STATE4). Each NEXT predicts the 
word classes that might appear next in a legal sentence. 

The completion of the parser is signalled by the table 
(NEXT = 0), not by the end of the sentence. One of the duties of 
the parser is to decide whether the sentence contains either too 
few or too many words. If the final word does not appear ex- 
actly when expected, the sentence contains a syntax error. 
(Carriage-return is a word in most languages.) 

The parser is in trouble if it reaches an ERROR. Since no 
state accepted the current word, the parser can't know which 
NEXT to use for the rest of the sentence. The parser must abort 
because it cannot predict what words should come next . This is 
an important issue to which we will return later. 

We have glossed over the difference between action and 
translation. For example, all integers receive the same transla- 
tion — character string to numerical quantity — but they cause 
different actions depending upon their usage. In Basic, an inte- 
ger can be used as either a statement label or a number (e.g., 10 
A = 10). To make the parser more compact, we can place the 
translation operation in WORD rather than repeating it in sev- 
eral different ACTIONs. Every ACTION must know where 
its WORD left the translation. This technique applies only 
when the translation of a word is independent of its usage in a 
sentence. 

States That Call Other States 

A phrase can have more than one use, just as a word can. 
Consider an arithmetic expression. Programming languages 
allow an arithmetic expression after = , before or after a rela- 
tional operator, as an array subscript, etc. To parse the ex- 
pression, the automaton will need a sequence of states. Rather 
than cluttering the table with repetitions of this sequence, we 
can limit the table to a single instance which other states can 
call — as program calls a subroutine. This is how it would look: 

CALL SEQUENCE ACTION NEXT 
CALL is a special subroutine that saves (makes a copy of) the 
location of the current state and substitutes SEQUENCE in its 
place. As a result, the sequence will direct parsing until some- 
thing tells the automaton to return to the calling state (by 
reversing the substitution). NEXT=0and ERROR are the ob- 
vious candidates for causing a return. NEXT=0 will mean a 
successful return (the sequence accepted), and ERROR will 
mean an unsuccessful return (the sequence rejected). 

An illustration is shown below. Both STATE6 and 
STATE 12 call the sequence at STATE 16. If the sequence ac- 
cepts (STATE 1 8 accepts), the automaton will return and exe- 
cute ACTION6/ACTION12. Then the automaton will move 



STATE6: 



STATE 12: 



STATE 16: 
STATE 17: 
STATE 18: 



CALL 
ERROR7 



CALL 
ERROR 13 



WORD16 
ERROR 17 
WORD18 



STATE 16 
ERR-MSG7 



STATE 16 
ERR-MSG13 



ACTION 16 STATE20 
ACTION 18 



to STATE49/STATE92. If the sequence rejects (reaches 
STATE 1 7), the automaton will return and fall through to 
ERROR7/ERROR 1 3 with calling any ACTION. 

Notice that ERROR 17 does not have an ERR-MSG. This 
is because an error has not occurred yet. We are using ERROR 
as a shorthand for "call failed." not for "parse failed." The 
section of the table that issues the call must decide whether or 
not an error has occurred. Another point: since the call may 
have processed several words before reaching ERROR, the 
automaton must be prepared to restore the input pointer to its 
original value before it returns from the call. 

Preliminary Lexical Scan for Efficiency 

The automaton has an inefficiency: the same word will be 
checked for spelling by many states until one state accepts or all 
of them reject. It would be more efficient to check the spelling 
of each word only once, before the parse begins, to identify its 
lexical type: digit string, alphabetic string, arithmetic op- 
erator, etc. With this information, the parser could avoid call- 
ing many WORDs unnecessarily. For example, if the word is 
"49," it would be a waste to execute the WORDs for variable 
names and keywords (which must begin with letters). 

Other Refinements 

If a word class contains only one word (e.g., COLON con- 
tains only :), WORD can be the actual word rather than the 
name of a subroutine. This eliminates the overhead of a sub- 
routine call. The automaton must represent subroutine names 
with symbols that can't be confused with printed characters. 

Some states won't need an ACTION. For example, 
punctuation marks often serve as separators and don't carry 
any information that requires action. Rather than cluttering 
the table with ACTIONS that do nothing, we can have a 
convention (such as setting the high bit of WORD) that in- 
dicates no action. 

Sometimes it is convenient to call ACTION or move to 
NEXT without processing any words from the sentence. For 
this, the automaton needs a WORD that does nothing or a 
convention that indicates no WORD. For example, the autom- 
aton may want to hop over an ERROR if a missing word was 
optional, or it might want to perform a final action after a com- 
plete phrase or sentence has been processed. 

Semantics vs. Syntax 

Words can satisfy the syntax of a language while violat- 
ing its semantic rules. For example, 30 GOTO 1000 is good 
syntax, but it would be illegal semantics if no other sentence 
began with 1000. To handle such situations, the parser 
has a BAD-ACTION routine to which 
any ACTION can branch in case of se- 
mantic error. BAD-ACTION does what- 
ever bookkeeping is required to simulate 
ERROR. The flow chart in Figure 1 
shows a BAD-ACTION. 

We have been discussing syntax- 
controlled automatons. The spelling and 
location of each word in the sentence 
determines unambiguously which 
ACTION should be called and which 
state should be used as NEXT. How- 
ever, there are situations in which we 
would like semantics (action subrou- 
tines) to influence the operation of the 
automaton. For example, assembler 



ACTION6 STATE49 



ACTION 12 STATE92 



94 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 





programming languages use the following syntax for an 
executable instruction: 

LABEL: INSTRUCTION OPERAND ;COMMENT 

The difficulty is that different instructions demand different 
types of operand. We could solve this problem by defining dif- 
ferent instruction types and assigning a different word class to 
each type. The parsing table would have a separate state (each 
with its own ACTION and NEXT) for each class. However, a 
better solution might be a single state whose WORD accepted 
all instructions and whose ACTION knew which NEXT to use 
for each instruction. 

In other words, the automaton allows ACTION to over- 
rule or replace the NEXT in the table. If nothing else, this im- 
proves the efficiency of the parser because it avoids calling 
several WORDs to identify a single instruction. Also, this tech- 
nique concentrates the knowledge the parser has about op- 
erand types in a single action subroutine, rather than scattering 
the knowledge throughout a large table. 

This technique admittedly violates some of the axioms 
upon which formal automaton theory depends, but no formal 
theorem can cope with all aspects of language anyway. We 
might say that our action subroutines are "intelligent" enough 
to cope with ambiguous or even contradictory syntax. One of 
the unsolved problems of all machine intelligence applications, 
including language processing, is how a program should decide 
when to abandon rigorous logic and "play the odds" instead. 
Perhaps this famous example will whet your appetite: 

Time flies like an arrow. 


A computer program at Harvard University found four 
syntaxes that match the above sentence: 

• Time moves through the air in the same manner as an ar- 
row does. (Flies is the verb) 

• Measure the speed of a housefly by the same means as 
you would measure the speed of an arrow. (Time is the verb) 

• Measure the speed of houseflies that resemble an arrow. 
(Like. . . an adjectival phrase, not adverbial) 

• A species of housefly, called a "time-fly," admires an ar- 
row. (Like is the verb) 

None of the above captures the real meaning of the sen- 
tence: Time passes as quickly as an arrow in flight. Obviously, 
we need something besides syntax to understand this sentence. 
For those interested in language as an experiment in machine 
intelligence, the following references contain interesting chap- 
ters and are more readable than most . ■ 

References 

Undemanding and Representation, edited by Daniel Bobrow and Allan lol- 
lins. Academic Press, 1975. A collection of classic papers, all still relevant 

Artificial Intelligence. Patrick Henry Winston. Addison-Wcsley Publishing, 
1977. Good programming details 

1 he Thinking Computer. Bertram Raphael, W II Freeman Co , W7h Kntcr- 
tatning, fewer programming details 

Satural Language Processing, Harry Iennanl, Pclrivclh Books, I9H1 One 
histories of language processing 


This discussion of programs that understand language 1 
will continue next month. 








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PROGRAMMING 



Logo Type 



Graphing functions with Logo 
Robert V. Ludwig 



The thing for which the Logo language is best known is tur- 
tle graphics. And what could be a more natural use of 
graphics than graphing functions? With the Logo Graph- 
ing Program presented here, it is easy to graph a function in ei- 
ther rectangular or polar coordinates and to watch the function 
being traced on the screen. It is also possible to get a printed 
copy of the graph if desired. 

The Logo Graphing Program (Listing 1 ) is written in Ap- 
ple Logo to run on the Apple II computer. Users of other ver- 
sions of Logo may need to make some changes. While the 
program makes use of the graphics capability of Logo, it is also 
a good demonstration of the power of some of the other fea- 
tures of the language. 

All of the following characteristics are present in the 
program. 

• Logo is procedural. 

• Logo is interactive. 

• Logo is recursive. 

• Logo is extensible. 

• Logo has list handling capability. 

The program consists of some 20 independent modules or 
procedures and begins with the main procedure GRAPH. 
GRAPH consists of calls to procedures ENTER.DATA, 
DRAW.XAXIS, DRAW.YAXIS, CHOOSE. TYPE, 
PRINT.GRAPH and very little else. If a program is written by 
first writing a main part consisting mostly of procedure calls, 
followed by the writing of the called procedures, we say it has 
been written "top down." Top down programming is consid- 
ered by many to be a highly effective and efficient way of writ- 
ing programs. 

The first procedure called by GRAPH is ENTER.DATA 
which begins by asking if the screen is to be cleared. This fea- 
ture demonstrates the interactive ability of Logo. It is included 
here to allow you to graph one (or more) functions and then, by 
rerunning GRAPH, tochange the coordinate scales and super- 
impose new graphs on top of the old. 

Notice that the first three lines of ENTER.DATA make 
you "get it right." If you do not answer either Y or N to the 
question posed, the procedure calls itself and the question is re- 
peated. This is the first use of recursion in the program. 

Positioning the Axes 

Next ENTER.DATA calls the procedure GET.INTER- 
VAL which is also recursive, in this case to insure that the left- 
hand endpoint of the interval over which the function is to be 
graphed is entered before the righthand endpoint. When the 




program returns to ENTER.DATA after executing GET.- 
INTERVAL, the position on the screen for the y-axis is 
determined. 

Following the calculation of YAXIS.POS, ENTER.- 
DATA asks for the position of the x-axis. Entering a here will 
put the x-axis in the middle of the screen; entering a— 79 will 
put it where it will just show at the bottom of the split screen. 

The last thing that ENTER.DATA does is to ask for the 
ratio y-axis scale:x-axis scale. This allows the y-axis scale to be 
compressed or expanded in comparison to the x-axis scale if it 
is desirable to distort the graph for any reason. For example, if 
the zeros of a function are very close together, the scale on the 
y-axis may be stretched out so that the zeros are more visible. 
Figure 1 is a graph of the function 

x 3 -OOox" + .00001 lx - .000000006 
over the interval [0 .004] which is generated by the program in 
such a way as to separate the zeros. If the same scale had been 
used on the y-axis as on the x-axis (a scale ratio of 1 ), the graph 
would have been so close to the x-axis as to be indistinguishable 
from it. The graph of Figure 1 was produced by using a y- 
axis:x-axis ratio of 1 ,000,000. 



9« CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Note that ENTER. DATA uses the procedures 
LINEFEED and SPACE, which do exactly what their names 
suggest. They are excellent examples of the extensible nature of 
Logo in that when they are used, they are indistinguishable 
from primitive commands. After ENTER. DATA has been 
completed, the program returns to GRAPH where DRAW.- 
XAXIS and DRAW. YAXIS are executed. 

Entering the Function 

Following the drawing of the two 
axes, the program calls the procedure 
CHOOSE.TYPE. InCHOOSE.TYPEa 
decision must be made to use either a 
rectangular coordinate system or a polar 
coordinate system, and to plot either in- 
dividual points only or the points con- 
nected by line segments. 

The two procedures ENTER. - 
FUNCTION and ENTER.P.FUNC- 
TION provide for the entry of the 
function to be graphed, with respect to 
the coordinate system chosen. The en- 
tered function is saved as a list with the 
variable name FUNCTION. If you have 
chosen to graph in polar coordinates, 
ENTER.P.FUNCTION also requests the interval over which 
the angle is to vary. Once again you are required to enter the 
smaller number first. The interval entered in the earlier proce- 
dure GET. INTERVAL is used to put a scale on the polar axis. 

GRAPH.FUNCTION and PLOT.POINT (GRAPH.- 
P.FUNCTION and PLOT.P.POINT for polar coordinates) 
are the procedures which do the actual graphing. Keep in mind 
that you must use the coordinate system supplied by Logo in 
which x varies from — 140 to 139 (this program uses — 139 to 
139 so that the y-axis can be centered on the screen) and y 
varies from -119 to 120(orfrom -79 to 120onthesplitscreen). 

For rectangular coordinates this program attempts to plot 
one point for each of the 279 pixels across the horizontal 
dimension of the screen. When the procedure GRAPH.- 
FUNCTION is called at the end of procedure ENTER.- 
FUNCTION. it is instructed to begin graphing at pixel - 139. 

The first line in GRAPH.FUNCTION will stop the 
graphing process when pixel 139 has been reached, at which 
time GRAPH.FUNCTION sounds the "bell" (CHAR 7) and 
branches to the procedure GRAPH.ANOTHER. In the sec- 
ond line of GRAPH.FUNCTION, the pen is raised before the 
first point is plotted so that the turtle does not "drag the pen" as 
he travels to that point. 




he Logo primitive RUN is the 
instruction which causes 
execution of the string having 
variable name FUNCTION as if 
that string were substituted for 
the words RUN JUNCTION in 
the program. 



Graphing the Function 

You impose a scale on the x-axis when you choose an inter- 
val over which to graph in the procedure GET.INTERVAL. 
That interval and the value chosen for RATIO in ENTER.- 
DATA also impose a scale on the y-axis. In general the scale on 
the x-axis will not be the scale of — 139 to 139 which Logo uses. 
Likewise, the scale on the y-axis will not be that of Logo. 

The third line of the procedure 
GRAPH.FUNCTION performs a trans- 
formation from the Logo scale to your 
scale so that the function you have entered 
can be evaluated properly in the first line 
of PLOT.POINT. After this evaluation 
takes place, in the second line of PLOT. 
POINT a second transformation converts 
the y value back to its equivalent value 
in the Logo coordinate system. 

X and FX are the variable names for 
the x and y values to be plotted with re- 
spect to x-axis and y-axis scales you have 
chosen. XPOINT and YPOINT are the 
variable names for the x and y values with 
respect to the Logo scales. Lines 4 and 5 
of GRAPH.FUNCTION display the 
abscissa of the point to be plotted. 
Line 6 of GRAPH.FUNCTION is for the purpose of er- 
ror trapping. The instruction CATCH "ERROR begins 
execution of the instructions (in this case PLOT.POINT) con- 
tained within the following square brackets. If, however, an er- 
ror occurs during the execution of those instructions, execu- 
tion will be abandoned, and the program will branch to the line 
following CATCH. Since that line is a recursive call to plot the 
next pixel, the program continues as though no error had oc- 
curred, except that the most recent point is not plotted. 

Line 1 ofPLOT.POINT demonstrates the magic of Logo 
string handling. The Logo primitive RUN is the instruction 
which causes execution of the string having variable name 
FUNCTION as if that string were substituted for the words 
RUN :FUNCTION in the program. If no error occurs during 
the execution of PLOT.POINT up to line 3, PLOT.POINT 
next displays at the bottom of the screen the ordinate of the 
point to be plotted. Lines 5 and 6 determine whether points are 
only plotted or plotted and connected. 

Errors 

A troublesome error can occur in PLOT.POINT if your 
function has incorrect syntax. In this case the program cannot 
plot any points as it cannot interpret the function. The 




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VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 00 



PROGRAMMING 



CATCH "ERROR command, however, causes Logo not to 
cease running and not to print an error message. 

If the value of the abscissa displayed on the bottom of the 
screen is changing "like a spinning odometer" it means that 
several consecutive errors are occurring. If the error is a syntax 
error, the entered function will still be visible at the bottom 
of the screen. If the odometer effect is present and the func- 
tion is not visible.! here is no syntax error, 
and the program may eventually begin 
to plot. 

If, however, the spinning odometer 
effect is present and the function is visible 
at the bottom, the error may be syntax or it 
may be "turtle out of bounds" or "division 
by zero" or possibly something else. Since 
no error message is displayed when the 
program is within the scope of a CATCH 
command, in this last case you can only 
wait to see if points will be plotted. 

After GRAPH. FUNCTION or 
GRAPH. P.FUNCTION has finished 
execution, the first line of either procedure 
passes control to GRAPH.ANOTHER. 
If you choose to graph another function, 
control passes back to CHOOSE.TYPE 
where you again have the option of choosing either rectangu- 
lar or polar coordinates, but do not have the option of chang- 
ing the coordinate system scale or the value of RATIO. To 
change those inputs you must first quit the program and 
then restart it. 

Printing the Graphics 

The procedure PRINT.GRAPH is designed to dump to 
the printer a copy of whatever graphs appear on the screen. It is 
written to work with the Pkaso printer interface card and the 
Epson MX-80 printer with Graftrax Plus. 

The two lines starting with .DEPOSIT are needed so that 
after an image is dumped to the printer, output will return to 
the screen without a reboot of Logo. I believe that these two 
lines are required by the Pkaso card, although they are not re- 
quired for the Krell version of Logo. This is a trick I learned 
from the Logo Tool Kit which contains utilities that may be 
helpful for other printer, interface products. 

The procedures SINR, COSR, and PI are included to help 
enter certain trigonometric functions and values. If you wish to 
get the typical graph of the sine function, for example, you 
must use SINR X. The Logo function SIN X returns the sine of 
an angle measured in degrees while the typical sine curve is for 




xpanding the scope of the 
program would almost certainly 
require the use of shorter names, 
fewer redundancies, more 
multiple command lines, and 
other tricks to reduce the size of 
the program. 



angles measured in radians. This example brings up another 
point. You will note that I have suggested using SINR X in- 
stead of the traditional Logo notation SINR :X. 

Using SINR X instead of SINR :X is possible because of 
the inclusion of a procedure with the acutely short name X. 
The only thing this procedure does is to return the value of X 
(or :X as it is written in Logo). Thus when you write something 
such as PRINT SINR X, the X on the end 
is really a call to execute the procedure X 
which returns :X which then serves as in- 
put to the procedure SINR. This little 
trick saves you from having to write :X 
when you enter the function to be 
graphed. 



Additions and Enhancements 

I do not wish to leave you with the im- 
pression that I consider this to be a com- 
pleted "commercially acceptable" 
program. The program as it now stands 
will, for example, quit with an appropriate 
error message if non-numeric data are en- 
tered when numeric data are expected. I 
would consider such a response unaccept- 
able in commercial software. 
There are other features which might have been included 
in this program. For example, you might want to graph dif- 
ferent functions in different colors or to graph using para- 
metric equations. Another possibility would be to include 
procedures to evaluate functions such as the log, exponential, 
and power functions, which Apple Logo does not provide. 

I have not added more to the program for two reasons. The 
first is that it was my intention to present the program as a tu- 
torial for those who are not advanced Logo programmers. 

An even more compelling reason for not extending the 
scope of the program is that I am starting to run out of space. I 
am not sure how much the program can be expanded within the 
confines of a 64 K Apple, but some compromises might have to 
be made to do so. Expanding the scope of the program would 
almost certainly require the use of shorter names, fewer redun- 
dancies, more multiple command lines, and other tricks to re- 
duce the size of the program. 

One final note. The program runs slowly. Although a Ba- 
sic program to produce graphs would probably run faster, it is 
very much more difficult to write the function input routine in 
Basic. This is the kind of application in which the list handling 
capability of Logo really shines. ■ 




» -4 



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lOO CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 




listing 1. 



XAXIS.POS 
YAXIS.POS 



10 GRAKH 
WINDOW HT 
ENTER. DATA 
DRAW.XAXIS i 
DRAW. VAX IS : 
CHOOSE. TYPE 
PR I NT. GRAPH 
TEXTSCREEN 
END 



TO ENTER. DATA 

LINEFEED 2 PRINT [DO YOU WANT TO CLEAR THE SCREEN (Y/N>?) 

MAKE "ANS READCHAR 

IF :ANS ■ "V CCLEARSCREEN) CIF NOT : 

ANS - "N CENTER. DATA STOP J J 
GET. INTERVAL 

HAKE "YAXIS.POS 139 • <:A ♦ :B> / <:A - :B> 
LINEFEED I PRINT [WHERE DO YOU WANT THE X-AXIS1 
SPACE 5 PRINT [< - 79 TO 79>->] 
MAKE "XAXIS.POS READWORD 
LINEFEED 1 PRINT [ENTER THE RATIO! 
SPACE 5 PRINT CY-AXIS SCALE / X-AXIS SCALE] 
MAKE "RATIO READWORD 
END 

TO GET. INTERVAL 

PRINT [ENTER IN THE FORM A B WITH A < B THE] 

PRINT [INTERVAL ALONG THE X-AXIS OVER WHICH] 

PRINT [YOU WISH TO GRAPH.] 

MAKE "INTERVAL READLIST 

MAI E "A FIRST : INTERVAL 

MAKE "B LAST : INTERVAL 

IF NOT :A < :B CGET. INTERVAL] 

END 

TO LINEFEED :NUM 
REPEAT INUM [PRINT []] 
END 

TO SPACE :num 

REPEAT :NUM [TYPE C J J 

END 

TO DRAW.XAXIS :XAXIS.POS 

IF OR : XAXIS.POS < -119 : XAXIS.POS > 120 [STOP] 

PU SETPOS LIST O : XAXIS.POS PD 

WRAP SETHEADING 90 FD 280 SETHEADING WINDOW 

END 

TO DRAW.YAXIS : YAXIS.POS 

IF :A • :B > [STOP] 

PU SETPOS LISI :YAXIS.POS O PD 

WRAP SETHEADING O FD 240 WINDOW 

END 



TO CHOOSE. T Yl 1 

LINEFEED 18 PRINT [CHOOSE COORDINATE SYSTEM.] 
TEXTSCREEN 

SPACE 5 PRINT [<1> RECTANGULAR. PLOT POINTS ONLY] 
SPACE 5 PRINT [(2) RECTANGULAR, CONNECT POINTS] 
SPACE 5 PRINT [ (3) POLAR, PLOT POINTS ONLY] 
SPACE 5 PRINT [(4) POLAR, CONNECT POINTS] 
"TYPE READCHAR 
!TYPE - "1 :TYPE - 2 CENTER. FUNCTION STOP] 
IF OR :TYPE - "3 :TYPE - 4 CENTER. P. FUNCTION STOP] 
CHOOSE. TYPE 
END 



MAKE 
IF OR 



TO ENTER. FUNCTION 

LINEFEED 1 PRINT CENTER THf FUNCTION TO BE GRAPHED.] 

LINEFEED I TYPE CFCX) - ] 

MA) E "FUNCTION READLIST 

GRAPH. FUNCTION -139 

END 

TO X 

OUTPUT :X 
END 



TO ENTER. P. FUNCTION 

LINEFEED I PRINT CENTER IN THE FORM U V WITH U < V THE] 

PRINT C INTERVAL OF ANGLE CHANGE OVER WHICH] 

PRINT CYOU WISH TO GRAPH.] 

MAKE "INTERVAL READLIST 

MA( E "U FIRST : INTERVAL 

MAKE "V LAST : INTERVAL 

IF NOT :U < :V CENTER. P. FUNCTION STOP) 

LINEFEED 1 PRINT CENTER THE POLAR FUNCTION TO BE GRAPHED.) 

LINEFEED 1 TYPE CR<X) =■ ] 

MAKE "FUNCTION READLIST 

GRAPH. P. FUNCTION :U 

END 



7 GRAPH. ANOTHER STOP] 



i -.9 » <:a + :b> > / 278 



: XAXIS.POS 



TO GRAPH. FUNCTION : XPOINT 
IF : XPOINT > 139 CPRINT CHAR 
IF : XPOINT - -139 CPU) 
MAKE "X 1CB - :A> • :XPOINT 
SETCURSOR LIST LAST CURSOR 
TYPE C ABSCISSA ] TYPE :X 
CATCH "ERROR C PLOT. POINT] 
GRAPH. FUNCTION : XPOINT + 1 
END 



TO PLOT. POINT 

MAI E "FX :RATIO • RUN :FUNCTION 

MAKE "YPOINT <27B » :FX / <:B - 

SETCURSOR LIST 20 LAST CURSOR 

TYPE CORDINATE ] PRINT :FX 

IF :TYPE - 1 CDOT LIST : XPOINT : YPOINT PD STOP] 

SETPOS LIST : XPOINT : YPOINT PD 

END 

TO GRAPH. p. FUNCTION : ANGLE 

IF : ANGLE :V CPRINT CHAR 7 GRAPH. ANOTHER STOP] 

IF -.ANGLE • :U CPU) 

MAKE "X :ANGLE • PI / 1B0 

SETCURSOR LIST <> LAST CURSOR 

TYPE : ANGLE 

SETCURSOR LIST 4 LAST CURSOR 

TYPE C DEGREES] 

CATCH "ERROR CPLOT. P. POINT ] 

GRAPH. P. FUNCTION : ANGLE ■» 1 

END 

TO PLOT. P. POINT 

MAKE "RX RUN : FUNCTION 

make "R 278 • :rx / <:b - :a> 

MAKE "XPOINT :R • (COS :ANGLE) 

MA) E "YPOINT :RATIO • :R • (SIN 

SETCURSOR LIST 20 LAST CURSOR 

TYPE CR - ] PRINT :RX 

IF :TYPE - 3 CDOT LIST IXPOINT IYPOINT PD STOP) 

SETPOS LIST : XPOINT : YPOINT PD 

END 

TO GRAPH. ANOTHER 

LINEFEED 2 PRINT CGRAPH ANOTHER FUNCTION <Y/N)?J 

MAKE "ANS READCHAR 

IF :ANS - "Y CCHOOSE.TYPE STOP) 

IF NOT :ANS - "N CGRAPH. ANOTHER] 

END 

TO PRINT. GRAPH 

LINEFEED 2 PRINT CDO YOU WANT A PRINTED COPY (Y/N)'*] 

MAKE "ANS READCHAR 

IF :ANS - "N CSTOP) CIF NOT :ANS - "Y CPRINT. GRAPH STOP)) 

.DEPOSIT 47299 6 

.DEPOSIT 47363 3 

LINEFEED 1 PRINT CTURN ON PRINTER AND POSITION PAPER.) 

PRINT CTHEN PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE.) 

MA) E "THROW. AWAY READCHAR 

.PRINTER 1 

LINEFEED 10 

TYPE CHAR 9 TYPE "26H 

TYPE CHAR 9 TYPE "E 

.PRINK 

END 

TO PI 

OUTPUT 3. 14139 

END 



: YAXIS.POS 

ANGLE) + : XAXIS.POS 



TO SINR :X 
OUTPUT SIN 
END 

TO COSR :x 
OUTPUT COS 
END 



CX • 180 / PI) 



( : X • t SO / PI) 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 101 



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APPLICATIONS 



Coconuts of Dioohantus 



A computer solution of a classic problem 
Carl J. Patterson 



One of the more delightful aspects 
of computing is that it can be an 
artful blend of analytical prob- 
lem formulation and elegant number 
crunching. A clear illustration is given in 
the famous problem of the castaways 
and the coconuts. There are many vari- 
ations of the problem, and I shall present 
here a representative version and a gen- 
eral algorithm to solve it. 



Coconut Problem 

Five men were stranded on a desert 
island where the only food they could 
find was coconuts. These were gathered 
all day, and by nightfall the men were so 
tired that, rather than eating, they de- 
cided to wait till the next day to split up 
the coconut feast. The most suspicious 
member of the lot arose after he was cer- 
tain his fellows were asleep and divided 
the pile of coconuts into five equal 
shares, took his share and hid it. To con- 
ceal his act he pushed the other shares 
back into one large pile. But lo, a single 
coconut remained. This one he gave to 
the only other being the men had found 
on the island, a monkey. One by one, (in 
order of how suspicious each was), the 
other men arose and repeated the actions 
of the first man, each giving a single 
remaining coconut to the monkey. (The 
monkey learned quite quickly to stay 
around as each man arose.) 

Upon arising the next day the pile of 
coconuts was divided into five equal 
shares, but the monkey was dis- 
appointed: there was no coconut remain- 
ing. Our problem is to find out just how 
many coconuts there were and how 
many each man got. 

Formulate 

OK, hackers, don't start writing 
code just because you can visualize a 



■CSl 



^W«**»**| 



^*- ^Jtif* ^k*. Zitl-*. >£ilij*L ^a 






*,« 



•'-A. 



couple of FOR loops to get you started. 
Instead try making some observations 
about the problem. For example, the 
solution requires integers (the men 
didn't have a machete with which to 
make fractional coconuts). 

Another observation: maybe the 
solution isn't unique, so we should look 
for the smallest number that satisfies the 
problem. Next, one might consider how 
the problem should be formulated: by 
congruences (for number theorists); by 
trial and error (for hardcore 
computerists); or by considering steps 
taken in the course of the problem and 
carrying them, by pencil and paper, as 
far as they will lead. This last approach is 
the method we shall use. 

If there were X coconuts at the 
beginning, it is clear that after the first 
man took his share, 4/5(X-l) coconuts 
remained. This remaining amount be- 
comes a new X for the second man. If we 



call this X', then after the second man 
takes his share there remain 4/5(X'-l) 
or 4/5 (4/5(X-l)-l) coconuts. If we 
continue in this manner we will generate 
the information in Table 1 . 

Because the men were able to divide 
the remaining coconuts evenly in the 
morning, we know that the last ex- 
pression is divisible by S. So with a little 
algebra we determine that 

(4/5) 5 X-4(l-(4/5) 5 = 5Y 

The term 5 Y expresses the divisibil- 
ity of the righthand side by S. Also, since 
the righthand side of the equation repre- 
sents a number and the 5 in the lefthand 
side represents the number of men, Y 
represents the number of coconuts per 
man in the final division of coconuts. 
Simplifying the above equation a bit 

1024X-15625Y = 8404 

with X, the original number of coconuts, 



Man Remaining Coconuts 








1 4/5 (X-l) 








2 4/5 (4/5 (X-l) -1) 








3 4/5 (4/5 (4/5 (X-l) -1) 


-1) 






4 4/5 (4/5 (4/5 (4/5 (X-l) -1) 


-1) 


-1) 




5 4/5 (4/5 (4/5 (4/5 (4/5 (X-l) -1) 


-1) 


-1) 


-1) 



Man 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 



Early Share 
624 
499 
399 
319 
255 



End Share 

204 
204 
204 
204 
204 



Total Share 
828 
703 
603 
523 
459 



Table 1. 



Table 2. 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 105 



APPLICATIONS 



and Y, the number each man gets in the 
final division, both being integers. 

Solve It 

Rather than a trial and error or 
brute force technique, I wrote a program 
to solve the problem based on Diophan- 
tine analysis. In particular, the al- 
gorithm the program uses is based on 
continued fractions. The program can 
handle equations of the form 

AX + BY = Cor AX-BY = C 

with minor restrictions on A, B, and C. 
The program listing offers a bit of 
explanation, but for now it suffices to say 
that the second alternative is selected by 
inputting a problem type of 0. The vari- 
ables A, B, and C are given by 1024, 
1 5625, and 8404, respectively. The an- 
swer is given by 

X = 91174996 + t 15625 and 
Y = 5975244 + t 1024 

where t is any integer, including neg- 
ative. If this seems to imply that there is 
an infinite number of solutions, there is. 
For all equations of this form there is ei- 
ther an infinite number of solutions or 
there is none, and the program is capable 
of informing you if there is none. To find 
the smallest number of coconuts that sat- 
isfies the problem, we look for t to satisfy 

t > -91174996/15625 = -5835.2 
and 

t > -5975244/1024 = -5835.2. 

Picking t equal to 5835 and using it in the 
expression for X and Y we get, 
X = 3121 and Y = 204. So originally 
there were 3121 coconuts. 

Solve It Completely 

To complete the solution, the first 
man received 1/5(3121-1) or 624 coco- 
nuts plus the 204 he received in the final 
division, or 828 coconuts. The second 
man received 1/5 (4/5 (3121 - 1 )) or 
499, plus 204 for 703 coconuts. If we con- 
tinue like this, we generate the informa- 
tion in Table 2. 

For those of you who added up the 
column under total share and noticed 
the total was only 3116, don't forget the 
monkey, who got five coconuts, bringing 
the total to 3 121. 

Keep Going 

The problem is now completely 
solved, and its formulation as well as its 
solution affords pleasurable musings. 
You may wish to look at variations on 
the theme — more men or more mon- 
keys, for example. If the problem is prop- 



erly formulated, the program should be 
able to handle these versions also. 

The program is written in DEC's 
Basic Plus, but I tried not to use too 
many implementation-dependent fea- 
tures. Two sections, with line numbers 
960 to 1010 and line numbers 1080 to 
1 1 50 were necessary because integers are 
limited to 32,768 on the system I was us- 



ing. The function N U M 1 S(X) isa system 
function that takes the numeric value of 
X and makes a string containing numer- 
als that represent that value. The func- 
tion PRODS takes the product of its first 
two arguments, which must be strings, 
and returns a string with the number of 
significant places determined by its third 
argument. ■ 



DtophontHM Anoly sis Program Listing* 



100 
110 
120 
130 
140 
ISO 
ISO 
170 

iao 

190 
200 

\ 
\ 
Z10 

\ 

220 

\ 

\ 

\ 

230 

\ 

240 

230 

260 

270 

280 

\ 

290 

300 

\ 

\ 

310 

320 

330 

3«0 

330 

\ 

360 

370 

\ 

\ 

380 

390 

400 

4i :> 

420 

430 

440 

430 

460 

470 

480 

490 

500 

310 

520 

330 

340 

550 

560 

370 

380 

590 

600 

\ 

\ 

610 

620 

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630 

640 

630 



r <Er, 
RE" 
»E«1 



REM 
REM 
REM 



REM 
REM 
REM 



DIM RX( 100) 

DEF FNM<AX.3X>«AX-INT<AX/BX>»8X 

written by Carl J Pittinor. o- DEC. 

PRINT 

PRINT ".lould yo j liKe an explanation of the iy« of" 

INPUT "problems this ."roaram can folvt "' R* 

I- \.E7-t ".N.C ,LSN<R«> ) ■ R« " -EN GOTO 3 : 

=>R.NT 

•=»;'•- ■ Thit frntrw cai *cl\e li:.«>ar DlOPaatlna equation*." 

PRIN' "-e. equations of the Form- A » X + fc * Y ^ C . or" 

PRINT "A«X-E»Y*C. where n, B. and C in liuin inHltn" 

PRINT "ar-l th» so'.uton < :< . Y > it also in tni inteaers. for" 

'RINT "examPie 2«;-' - 3*Y « 7. ui • -. solution X » 2. and Y * I." 

PRIM 

PRINT ■ i ho only constraints art!" 

PRINT " 1) A must it POSltluo. it can 0* Mad* so by Multiplying" 

PRINT " tht equation Dr -1. an:" 

PRINT " 2) The sreatest common divisor of A and B must divide" 

P?INT " c. otierwise no solutions: exist, see references." 

PRINT 

PRINT" T »»e proarao) will resolve these difficulties, if possible." 

PRINT 

PRINT 

PRINT "Giv'en the cons tra m t s are satisfied an infinite nuMber" 

PRINT "of .solutions exist. The p-oaraM will aive their general fore 

PRINT 

PR!N T " References I" 

PRINT " Continued Fractions - C C. Olds." 

PRINT " Recreations in tre Theory of Numbers - Beiller." 

PRINT 

:npu* "Do you need an exp.ana. ion of the possuie choices "SR* 

IF LEFT! "N0".LEMR»> )• R» GOTO 380 

PRINT 

P?INT "~o sol'Je an e" nation of tie form A«X ♦ 8*Y » C" 

PRINT "input 1 as the problem type, fol.oued by the" 

PRINT "..al'.es for A. B. and C" 

PRINT 

P7INT "To so "» an ei'.ation of the form A»X - 9»Y * C" 

PRINT "input C for t.it proo.em type, followed by the " 

PRINT "values for A. 8. and C." 

PRINT 

PRIMT 

INPUT 'Enter problem type and coefficient value*. "JTX. AX.BX.CX 

IF AH OX THEM GCTO 430 

ax - - ax : 9X • - ex : ex ■ - ex 

IF BX>0X THEN GOTJ 430 

TX ■ IX - TX I BX * - OX 
P.1X-AX 
BIX'BX 

Now find the continued fraction expansion of AX/BX 

IX-0 

IX»IX*1X 

rx< :x)'INT(aix/b:x) 

MX'FNMI A1X.B1X) 

AIX'BIX 

B1X-MX 
GOTO 310 UNLESS B1X*0 
IF A1X=1 *HEN C.3T0 660 
IF CX»<CX/A1X! • A1X THEN GOTO S20 

PRINT 

PRINT "There is no solution to this problem." 

PRINT "One side of then equation is divisible by "TA1X 

PRINT "and the other side isn't." 

50T0 1300 

Divide AX. BX. and CX throuah by the GCD of AX and BX. 

AX'AX/AIX I BX"BX/A1X I CX-CX/A1X 
GOTO 410 



K>6 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Diophcn tiro Anotysh P rogram lifting, (continued) 



IF FNM(I%.2X)'0 AND CX>0 THEN 730 
IF IX»1 THEN 730 

IF FNM< IX.2X>'1 AND CX<0 THEN 730 
IF RXdXIOl THEN QOTC 710 

RX(IX-1)"RX(IX-I) ♦ 1 

RX( IX) »0 

IX»IX-1 
GOTO 730 

RX< IX)"RX< IX) - 1 

RX(IX+I)-I 

IXMX ♦ 1 



660 

665 

670 

680 

690 

\ 

\ 

700 

710 

\ 

\ 

720 REM 

730 REM U* not. hi«( tha correct dimension of th( continutd 

740 REM fraction For IK* t>ri of rrollta. Saa riFtnncii, 

730 REM 

7B0 



PIX-RXI IX) 

01X-1X 

P2X-RX(ZX)»RX< IX) ♦ IX 

Q2X*RX(2X) 

IF IX-1 THEN QOX'OIX 

IF IX-2X THEN POX'PIX 

aox-oix 

GO TO 660 
IF IX-3X THEN P0X-P2X 
Q0X»02X 
GO TO 860 
FOR NXOX TO :x-ix 
P0X»RX(NX)»P2X 
Q0X>RV.(NX)«02X 
PIX"P2X 
Q1X'02X 
P2X=P0X 
G2X-00X 
NEXT NX 



\ 
\ 

\ 

76S 

770 

\ 

\ 

780 

\ 

\ 

790 

800 

810 

820 

\ 

830 

\ 

840 

830 REM 

860 REM Ue now haua all ilimnti of tha solution, it. tht 

870 REM »iluif of tho numerator and danoixinator of tha 

880 REM cinuirsml. 5»» raferancas. 

880 REM 

900 



P1X 
Q1X 



910 

920 

330 

\ 

940 

930 

\ 

960 

\ 

\ 

963 

870 

980 

980 



c-cx : uo>oox : po«pox 

if ab8(c»q0)>«32768 or abs< c«po ) >-327g8 then goto 360 

if tx-1 then goto 830 

xx=abs<cx;«qox 

yx»ab8(cx)»p0x 

GOTO 1040 
XX-AB6(CX)«Q0X 
YX»-ABS(CX)»P0X 
IF CaQO'O OR C»PO-0 THEN IXX-Z 
IYX"2 
GOTO 970 
IXX-2+INT<L0G10(OQ0> ) 
IF TX'IX THEN GOTO 1000 
X*-PR0D*(NUM1*(ABS(CX) ) .NUM1*<Q0X) . IXX) 
Y«*PR0D«(NUM1«(AB8(CX) > ,NUM1»<P0X) . IYX) 
GOTO 1020 
X*-PR0D*(NUM1»(A85(CX) ) ,NUM1*<Q0X) .IXX) 
Y»-PR0D«<NUM1»(-AB5<CX) ) ,NUM1«(P0X) .IYX) 



IYX»2»INT<^QG10(C»P0) ) 



1000 

1010 

1020 REM 

1030 REM 

1040 REM Print rasults 

1030 REM 

1060 

1070 

\ 



including th* aanoral solution 



1080 

1090 

1100 

1110 

1120 

1130 

1140 

1130 

11 BO REM 

1170 REM U* 

1180 REM 



PRINT 

T»-" t •■ 

Tl»«" - t •■ 

IF ABS(C«Q0) 3276B AND ABS(C«PO) 32768 THEN GOTO 1190 

IF TX-OX THEN GOTO 1130 

x ■ ":x»:ti»:bx 
y - -:y»:" <-",t«:ax 



"Solution 



PRINT 
PRINT " 
GOTO 1150 
PRINT "Solution 
PRINT " 
GO TO 1250 



:x«: 
:y»: 



:t«:bx 
:t«:ax 



had to do this bacausa of intuit sire limitations 



1190 
1200 
1210 
122C 
1230 
1240 
1230 
1260 
1270 
1280 
1290 
1300 



IF TX"0 THEN GOTO 1230 

PRINT "Solution : X 

PRINT " Y 

GOTO 1230 

PRINT 'Solution : X 



_ :xx:ti»:bx 
h :yx:" ♦••:t»:ax 



■:xxi" 

- : yx : ■ 



:t»:bx 
:t»:ax 



print " 

PRINT 

PRINT " Hhera tha uariabla t represents any inteaer. 

PRINT 

INPUT " Do vou naue another problem ":R* 

IF LEFTC YES" .LENIR4) ) ■ R» THEN GOTO 310 

END 



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VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 107 



TANDY GRAM 

News from the top: What's really going on at Tandy/Ed Juge 



This month, Tandy Gram fea- 
tures a special guest columnist, Ed 
Juge, director of market planning at 
Tandy. We asked him to write about 
the future of the company and its 
machines — not only the new ones, but 
the old standbys as well. His report 
should be heartening to TRS-80 own- 
ers of all persuasions. Jake Com- 
mander will return next month. 



One of the great joys and consum- 
ing passions of our industry 
seems to be the incredibly pro- 
lific rumor mill. The entertainment 
value would be hard to deny. However, 
when you have made — or are about to 
make — a big investment, it is reassuring 
to be able to separate fact from fiction. I 
guess that's why the editors asked me to 
sit in this month and discuss Tandy 
Corporation/Radio Shack computers 
and computer directions. Since our ru- 
mor mill is one of the most active (or so it 
seems to us), I didn't require much 
persuading. 

Our entry into the MS-DOS market 
in 1983 with the Tandy 2000 and last 
year's expansion of that line with the 
Tandy 1000 and 1200HD has received 
quite a bit of attention. The 1000 has set 
sales records for us from the day it was 
introduced. Recently, we announced 
very aggressive MS-DOS product pric- 
ing. Tandy's intention to be a leader in 
this portion of the market is obvious. It is 
important to say that we consider the 
1 200HD our only IBM "clone." 

Our strategy is to continue as the 
price/performance leader, but also to 
bring something extra to the table with 
our offerings. With the Tandy 2000, it 
was ultra-high performance in a single- 
user MS-DOS machine (notice I didn't 
say "compatible" ... we said from Day 
One it wasn't). Today, in the single-user 
market, the performance of the 2000 is 
about equal to that of the IBM PC AT, 
which sells for more than twice the price. 
The 1000 offers full IBM PC compatibil- 
ity, plus enhanced graphics and sound, 
and a smaller footprint, and has most of 
the "common" extras built in. And we 
have announced for the 1000, 1200HD, 
and 2000 VIANET, the only available 
network that does not require you to 




I he 1000 has set sales records 
for us from the day it was 



introduced. 



dedicate one machine as a system 
fileserver. 

Our future direction will be to lever- 
age from the software standard and the 
growing software library created for the 
IBM PC, rather than produce "me-too" 
products. 

Concern is often expressed over the 
future of our "older" products, so let me 
say that the Tandy 2000 will remain in 
our line for the foreseeable future. We 
have more than 120 software packages 
available for it in our private labeled and 
Express Order software lines. That in- 
cludes almost all of the IBM PC top 50. 
And the selection continues to grow. 

A Future for "Older" Machines 

Where does MS-DOS leave our 
other computers? Of most concern, be- 
cause of the huge installed base, is the 
Model 4. True, we have pared down the 
line, dropping the cassette, transport- 
able, and single-disk versions. With the 
falling price of thedual-disk model, sales 
of the cassette and single-disk units had 
slowed. And even though you won't find 
a more enthusiastic and devoted group 
of owners than our Model 4P folks, 
transportablesjust weren't moving well 
for any company that also sold a desktop 
version. The dual-disk unit should con- 



tinue until the marketplace tells us it is 
no longer a product. 

Severai factors are at work here: 
TRSDOS 6 is an outstanding operating 
system. (An admittedly prejudiced 
mainframe programmer said to me just 
yesterday, "It's the only real operating 
system on a micro today.") And there is a 
tremendous base of mature, proven 
TRSDOS and CP/M software available 
for a wide variety of tasks. The 4 is still a 
very cost-efiective computer, and ex- 
tremely popular with schools. If we were 
going to drop it, would we be introduc- 
ing a new double-sided drive version this 
fall? 

Color Computer owners are con- 
cerned, now that the Tandy 1000 is the 
first fully IBM PC-compatible computer 
available for less than $ 1000. Where will 
that leave the CoCo? I can't deny that 
some customers who last year might 
have bought a 64K disk CoCo system 
with all the trimmings are now choosing 
the 1000. But there are still many, many 
folks who don't want to plunk down that 
kind of cash all at once. They want a ma- 
chine that allows them to start small and 
build. 

No home computer on the market 
today has the potential horsepower of 
the Color Computer. Coupled with disks 
and a sophisticated operating system, it 
can handle multi-tasking and even 
multi-user operation. Try that with your 
Commodore 64. So, we believe the CoCo 
also has a good future, even though it 
may share some of it's "high end" buyers 
with the Tandy 1000. 

In lap portables, we still seem to be 
the leader. We have been accused by our 
competition of producing niche ma- 
chines, because they are not high horse- 
power PC-compatibles. From sales 
estimates I have seen, our niche must be a 
pretty large one! As we suspected, not 
too many people have need for heavy, 
bulky, expensive PC-compatible por- 
tables. The marketplace isn't as big as we 
had hoped, but we seem to have tapped 
what there is better than anyone. Even in 
competition with the PC-compatibles, 
our Tandy 200 is moving quite well. And 
to squelch another rumor: there is not a 
Tandy MS-DOS portable "in the chute" 
at this time. 



108 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



At the upper end of our line is the 
Tandy 6000. It is reported to be the 
Unix/Xenix market share leader. And 
that includes micro, mini, and main- 
frame machines. The 6000 is twice as fast 
as the 16/16B that made us the leader, 
and the 6000 is without a doubt the mar- 
ket price/performance leader. This sum- 
mer, we'll have our VIANET local area 
network available for the 6000. 

Software is the name of the game to- 
day. That is really the attraction of MS- 
DOS: most of the really exciting 
programs have been developed there 
first. Maybe that realization has struck 
Mac owners after the fascination of gee- 
whiz icons and mice has worn thin. So, 
what directions will Tandy be taking? 

New Directions 

As you know, we have an in-house 
programming staff. They support all of 
our private-labeled software, regardless 
of how we acquire it. They support the 
operating systems, languages, and util- 
ities. But most of our applications soft- 
ware is now written by third parties. 

Scripsit is a Tandy product, as is the 



new Quartet accounting package, and 
DeskMate. So, we will be doing some 
exclusive in-house packages when there 
is a reason, but we intend to rely mostly 
on "big-name," market proven software 
from leading software firms. 



N, 



lo home computer on the 
market today has the potential 
horsepower of the Color 
Computer. 



The universal problem of software 
support is making our Express Order 
software program very attractive and 
successful. There is a limit to the number 
of programs our staff can adequately 
support. In the field, we have addressed 
the problem with our new Area Training 
and Support Operations (ATSO) which 



provides groups of specialists in major 
areas to answer questions and provide 
optional consulting services. But there 
are still limits. So through Express Or- 
der, support is furnished by the folks 
who know the system best, the authors 
or publishers. We are actively expanding 
that program. And we are getting 
demonstration disks in Computer Cen- 
ters for as many EOS offerings as we can. 
Tandy and Radio Shack's overall 
direction and goal is to provide the best 
value available in hardware and software 
solutions and to back them up with 
clearly superior service and support. I 
think we are well positioned with the 
best, most complete line of PCs in the in- 
dustry. There is no question that our 
ATSOs and Business Products Service 
Centers (providing faster service and of- 
ten even while-you-wait walk-in ser- 
vice), are solving the industry-wide 
support problems that the competition is 
still only talking about. We are serious 
about computers, and we are absolutely 
long-term players. We intend to be 
around after the "shakeout" to take care 
of our present and future customers. ■ 



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COMMODORE'S PORT 



Auto boot and redefined function keys for the C 1 28/Sheldon Leemon 



Oh the dangers of lead time: Here I 
am in late July, writing a column 
for the October issue, having 
read in John Anderson's August Com- 
modore's Port column that the 128 is 
currently in distribution. But it is not. 
Various explanations have been offered 
but none by Commodore. One clue is 
that the demonstration model I received 
in late June looks like a production ver- 
sion, but if you turn it over, instead of an 
FCC sticker on the bottom of the case, 
there is a warning label that the unit has 
not been FCC certified and is not for sale 
until clearance has been obtained. 

Of course, now that I am writing 
about the delay, you can bet that by the 
time you read this, the 128 will be ship- 
ping, making the whole question moot. 
It is a well-known effect, like washing 
your car to make it rain. So if you have 
your 128 by now, you have me to thank 
for putting an end to the delay. The delay 
does illustrate an important change at 
Commodore, however. 

Under the Tramiel regime, the 
Commodore philosophy was "we will 
ship no computer before we get paid for 
it." The new management apparently 
agrees more with Paul Masson and will 
ship no computer before its time. That is 
good news in the long run for the con- 
sumer, who is really better off waiting a 
little longer to get a machine that works 
right the first time. 

CI 28 Function Keys 

This slight delay also works to the 
benefit of columnists, who have had time 
to stockpile material about the 128. In 
this column I will share a couple of tid- 
bits that I have unearthed already. The 
first item of interest regards the pro- 
grammable function keys. Basic 7.0 in- 
cludes the key command, which allows 
you to assign text strings to be printed 
whenever the function keys are pressed. 
There are defaults set up every time you 
turn the computer on, so that pressing 
the F3 key, for example, prints the 
keyword DIRECTORY plus a carriage 
return that enters the command, which 
then prints a disk directory. You can get 
a list of these defaults simply by typing 
the key command. But you aren't stuck 
with Commodore's choices for these 
keys. You can also use the key com- 




u 



^ nder the Tramiel regime, 
the Commodore philosophy was 
"we will ship no computer 
before we get paid for it." 



mand to change the values of the text 
strings. 

The Fl key, for example, prints the 
keyword GRAPHIC. That is not a com- 
mand I am likely to use every time I sit 
down at the keyboard. Entering the 
statement: 

KEY 1,"?DS$"+CHR$(13) 
will set up the Fl key so that every time I 
press it, the disk error channel will be 
read and the error message displayed. 
Notice that CHR$(13), the carriage re- 
turn character, was added to the end of 
the string to enter the command after it 
has been printed. Using the concatena- 
tion operator (that's computer talk for 
the + sign), we can add any of those little 
chrs characters that we want to our 
function key string. 

For example, if you wanted a func- 
tion key to clear the screen first and then 
display the directory, you could enter: 

KEY3,"?CHR$(147): 

DIRECTORY "+CHR$( 13) 



Two functions on the same key. Not bad! 

On the 128, the text for these mes- 
sages is stored in RAM (Bank 0), from 
locations 4096 to 4351. The binary save 
and load commands (bsave and bload) 
make it easy to save all of your key defi- 
nitions to disk and load them back in all 
at once, instead of having to type them 
one by one with the key command. 

"So what?" you may be asking 
yourself. After all, you can accomplish 
the same thing by creating a Basic pro- 
gram that sets up all of your favorite key 
definitions with the KEY command. 
Then you can run it when you want to 
change all of the definitions at once. 

But if you use the machine language 
monitor, you will discover something 
very interesting (you can get into the 
monitor, by the way, by pressing the F8 
key). Type 'M 1000' and the monitor will 
display the text characters that are in- 
voked by the function keys on the right 
side of the screen. If you look at the last 
couple of strings, you will find that the 
text printed by the shift-run/stop 
combination and the help key is also 
stored there. So actually, there are ten 
user-definable keys, even though the 
key command lets you change only the 
first eight. 

How do you change the text strings 
assigned to the help key and the shift- 
run/stop? Well, you must know a little 
bit about how the text for these keys is 
stored. The function key storage area be- 
gins at location 4096 in Bank 0. The first 
ten bytes hold the lengths of each of the 
ten text strings. The actual text itself fol- 
lows at location 4106. When the key- 
board editor sees that one of the defin- 
able keys has been pressed, it uses the 
length bytes to determine where to start 
and stop printing text. 

So, to redefine the two "extra" func- 
tion keys, we have to poke in the text for 
these two keys after the end of the text for 
the other eight and then change the 
length bytes at locations 4104 and 410S 
to reflect the lengths of these two strings. 
And you thought that Basic 7.0 would 
eliminate all pokes! 

The short Basic program in Listing 
1 shows how to redefine the two keys, 
and save all of the key assignments to a 
disk file name Keydata. Then, if you 
want to read in all ten of your new key 



HO CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 












Usltogl. 


10 HE» « "NO HELP FOR YOU 1 " ♦CHR»(17> 


+CHR»(13) 


20 SR» = "OUCH"' +CHR»(17> ♦CHR»(13) 




30 T» - SR» ♦ HE« 




40 FOR 0-0 TO 7l B- B +PEEK (4096 +ft) 


INEXT 


SO BP.NK Ol POKE 4104, LEN (SR*) 




60 POKE 41 OS, LtN (HE*) 




70 FOR P, -1 TO LEN <T»>: POKE 41 OS +6 


♦ft, P.SC (MID* <T», P., 1)s 


NEXT 




80 SCRATCH "KEYDP.TO" I BSP.VE "KEYDOTO", 


BO, P4096 TO P43S1 



listing 2. 


10 


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definitions at once, you just BLOAD 
"KEYDATA", BO, P4096. 

Run the program, then press the 
help key. Get the idea? Whatever ap- 
pears in HE$ in line 10 is printed by the 
HELP key, and whatever appears in RS$ 
in line 20 is printed by the shift- 
run/stop combination. You probably 
will want to set shift-run/stop to 
something like its default "RUN"+ 

CHR$(34)+ + CHR$( 1 3), so that it 

will still load and run the first program 
on the disk. But since the help com- 
mand is not really all that helpful, 
redefining it is like getting an extra func- 
tion key for free. 

Auto Boot for the CI 28 

For my next number, I'm going to 
play a request. As John has mentioned in 
earlier columns, the 128 operating sys- 
tem tries to boot the disk on power up. 
This means that it reads the disk drive, 
and if it finds some special data on track 
1, sector 0, it reads a machine language 
program from that sector and executes 
it. By placing on that sector a machine 
language program that runs a named file 
from the disk, you can get the 1 28 to load 
and run a Basic program automatically 
when you turn it on. If you happen to 
have a four-year-old, as I do, this means 
that you don't have to wait until he is old 

enough to type LOAD ,8 and RUN 

before you can let him use the computer. 
It is even handy for those of us over four. 



And contrary to popular belief, it works 
in 128 mode as well as CP/M mode, and 
it works on the 1541 as well as on the 
1741. 

When it came to actually writing 
the boot sector code, however, John 
hedged. Since he is a new father, I appre- 
ciate the time constraints under which 
he now operates so, as a personal favor to 
him, I wrote the program in Listing 2 to 
"create" a 128 boot disk. I have listed it 
in lowercase, so that you can clearly see 
that the character at the end of the string 
in line 100 is a shifted U (R-SHIFT-U is 
the abbreviation for the Basic keyword 

RUN). 

Because the program writes directly 
to the disk, some caution is indicated. 
First, type in the program and save it to 
disk. Do not run the program while the 
disk to which you have saved it is still in 
the drive. Instead, get out a brand new 
disk. Format it with the header com- 
mand. When you list the directory, you 
should have 664 blocks free. Now, keep 
this new disk in the drive and run the 
program. After it is done, the directory 
should indicate that you have 663 blocks 
free, because one block has been allo- 
cated to the boot sector. Now, all that re- 
mains is to save the Basic program you 
want to have run automatically to the 
same disk. For demonstration purposes, 
type NEW, then enter the program: 

10 PRINT CHR$(147) 
"EUREKA! IT WORKS" 



Enter the command DSAVE "AUTO. 
Now you are ready for the acid text. 
Press the reset button on the right side of 
the 128. If all goes well, after the Com- 
modore Basic 7.0sign-on message comes 
on, you will see: 

BOOTING . . . 

rU"auto 

and the program will run. If not, you will 
just have to take my word that it works. 

The name of the program appears in 
the data statement in line 1 10. Feel free 
to replace it with the filename of your 
choice. Just remember that because only 
ten characters can be placed in the key- 
board buffer at once, you are limited to 
six characters in the filename. If the 
name has fewer than six characters, add 
extra spaces at the end of the name to 
make exactly six characters as was done 
above. Also remember that for the boot 
to work, you must have a program with 
that name located on the same disk. 

What about the 64 side of the com- 
puter? Is it possible to boot a machine 
language program that changes the com- 
puter to the 64 mode and then automati- 
cally loads and runs a Basic program? At 
first, I thought not, because once you 
switch to the 64 mode, you lose control 
completely (so to speak). I have discov- 
ered a way to perform even this seem- 
ingly-impossible task, however. Unfor- 
tunately, I have run out of space. How 
many marvels do you expect in one col- 
umn, for goodness sake? With Mr. 
Anderson's indulgence, however, I will 
make another guest appearance at a fu- 
ture date to reveal thisand other interest- 
ing tidbits. (Sounds like he's hedging, 
doesn't it?-^JJA) ■ 




&%mg 




"Thank you for calling Acme Systems. We 
have the world's largest CPU and two 
hundred disk drives— none of which are 
available at the moment. " 



HUME 1 1 NUMBER 1 0/CREATI VE COMPUTING 1 1 1 



OUTPOST: ATARI 



Font upgrade revisited; full screen graphics in Mode 7 + 
Richard Whitsell 



In the July Outpost, John Anderson 
created a program that changed the 
Atari default character set into a more 
pleasant, more readable character set. 
From that beginning, I developed some 
improved code that installs the font, 
making it the default character set at 
boot time, in AUTORUN.SYS file for- 
mat. Complete instructions are to be 
found in the program itself, which ap- 
pears as Listing 1 . 

Of course, to make a successful in- 
stallation you must also have a copy of 
John's original program. For an in- 
troduction to character sets, take a look 
at the January 1982 Outpost column. 

Full Screen Graphics in Mode 7 + 
Listing 2 is a subroutine utility that 



will set up a GR.7 + screen and allow 
youtocreatea 160x 192 GR. 7+ screen 
and to plot or draw lines in the entire 
available screen area. 

To plot or draw a line, you must 
have your X and Y coordinates stored in 
the variables XP and YP. To plot a point, 
you then must gosub to line 30000. To 
draw a line, you should GOSUB 3 1000. 

To set up the GR.7+ screen, all 54 
values in the data statements can be put 
in a string, or page 6, or wherever else 
you might like, and called up with a usr 
statement. The routine will change only 
a GR.8 screen to GR.7 + , so make sure 
that you issue a GR.8 or GR.8 + 16 com- 
mand before invoking the usr call. 

Listing 3 is a sample program that 
creates an interesting full-screen display 



on the GR.7 + screen. Simply enter this 
program along with Listing 2, and you 
are up and running. 

I hope you enjoy exploring these 
programs as much as I enjoyed putting 
them together for you. For those who 
want to avoid typing drudgery, the three 
of them are available for download 
through Creative Computing Online, via 
CompuServe (type GO CRE). I first 
"met" John Anderson there, and find 
that the Online arm of Creative is at least 
as exciting as the print version. You can 
easily get in touch with either of us on 
CompuServe. My ID is 75056, 1 527, and 
John's is 76703,654. Please feel free to 
send us your comments, improvements, 
and new ideas. So long now, and catch 
you online. ■ 



Listingl. 



4O00 

4010 
4020 
4030 
4040 
4050 
4060 
4070 
4080 
4090 
4 1 00 
4110 
4120 
4130 
4140 
4150 
4160 
4170 
4160 
4190 
42O0 
4210 
4220 
4230 
4240 
4250 
4260 
4270 
4260 
4290 
4300 
4310 
4320 



REM » 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM « 

REM » 

REM » 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM » 

REM * 

REM « 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM ♦ 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM * 

REM » 

REM » 

REM * 

REM » 

REM » 

REM * 

REM * 

REM » 



INSTALL. UPG 
by Rich Whit! 



>11 



This program will create 
a program which will load 
John Pnderson' s new 
character font upon 
loading. 

Oil you do 13 ENTER this 
program after FONT. UPS 
is loaded. Pfter the 
first program runs, this 
program will create a 
file on your disk called 
FONT. SYS, which you can 
rename to PUTORUN. SYS. 

When you call up the DOS 
menu, the routines that 
handle RESET and other 
functions are erased, so 
RESET and the character 
set are set to default. 
To get the new font back, 
you have to re-boot. On 
programs such as Ptari- 
Writer you won't need to, 
of course. 

If you hold down the 
STPRT button while press- 
ing RESET, the default 
character set is put back. 

If you have any problems 



4330 REM * or questions, drop me a 

4340 REM » line on CompuServe. My 

4350 REM » ID is 75056, 1527 

4360 REM * 

5000 ? "PRESS STPRT TO MPKE FONT. SYS" 

5010 IF PEEK (53279) <> 6 THEN 50 lO 

5020 OPEN 411,8, 0, "DiFONT. SYS" 

5030 RESTORE lOOOO 

5040 FOR X-0 TO SzREPD V:PUT 441,V:N£XT X 

5050 FOR X-0 TO 95:REPD VjPUT 4»1,V:NEXT X 

5060 FOR X-96 TO 255: PUT *1,0:NEXT X 

5070 CBPSE=PEEK<756)#256 

5080 FOR X=CBPSE TO CBPSE+1023 

5090 V-PEEK(X) : PUT 441, Vi NEXT X 

5100 PUT 44l,224xPUT 441,2 

5110 PUT 441,225:PUT #1,2 

5120 PUT 441,0:PUT 441,31 

5130 CLOSE ttl 

5140 ? "FONT. SYS IS NOW ON THE DISK" 

lOOOO DPTP 255,255,0,31,255,35 

10010 DPTP 165,10,141,93,31,165,11,141 

10020 DPTP 94,31,165,12,141,57,31,165 

10030 DPTP 13,141,58,31,169,77,133,10 

10040 DPTP 169,31,133,11,169,56,133,12 

10050 DPTP 169,31,133,13,169,0,133,128 

10060 DPTP 141,231,2,169,36,133,129,141 

10070 DPTP 232,2,169,32,141,244,2,96 

10080 DPTP 32,64,21,32,20,31,162,32 

10090 DPTP 173,31,208,201,6,208,2,162 

10100 DPTP 224,142,244,2,96,169,224,141 

lOHO DPTP 244,2,173,57,31,133,12,173 

10120 DPTP 58,31,133,13,76,0,0,0 



112 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Usting2. 

30000 
30010 
30020 
30030 
30040 
30050 
30999 
31O00 
31010 
31020 
31030 
31040 

31050 
31060 
31070 
31080 
31090 
31500 
31510 
31515 
31520 
31530 
31540 
31350 
31555 
315EO 
31570 
315SO 
32000 
32005 
32O10 
32020 
32030 
32035 
32040 
32050 
32060 



REM »« PLOT (XP, YP) ROUTINE 

IF YP>95 THEN 30030 

PLOT XP, YP:flP-XPiBP«YP:RETURN 

DMH=PEEK < 89 > t POKE 89, DMH+ 1 5 

PLOT XP, YP-96 :PP-XP:BP-YP 

POKE 89, DMH : RETURN 

REM 

REM ♦» DROWTO <XP, YP) ROUTINE 

IF BP>95 THEN 31500 

IF YP>95 THEN 32000 

SWITCH=0 

IF SWITCH THEN DMH= PEEK < 89) : POKE 89, 

DMH+15 

IF SWITCH THEN BP=BP-96 : YP=YP-96 

PLOT fiP, BP:DRflWTO XP, YP 

IF SWITCH THEN 6P-BP+96 : YP-YP+96 

POKE 89, DMH 

PP=XP:BP=YP: RETURN 

IF YP>95 THEN SWITCH-1 :GOTO 31040 

DMH-PEEK < 89 > : POKE 89, DMH+ 1 5 

IF XP-PP THEN CHNGP-0 : GOTO 31540 

SLOPE=(YP-BP)/ (XP-ftP) 

CHNGB-BP-96 : CHNGP-CHNGB/SLOPE 

PLOT PP, BP-96: DROWTO flP-CHN6ft,0 

POKE 89, DMH 

IF XP-ftP THEN CHNGX=0:GOTO 31570 

CHNGY-95-YP:CHN6X=CHNGY/SLOPE 

PLOT XP+CHNGX,95:DRftWT0 XP, YP 

fiP-XP : BP-YP : RETURN 

IF XP=fiP THEN CHNGP-O: GOTO 32020 

SLOPE- (YP-BP) / (XP-ftP) 

CHNGB-95-BP : CHNGP-CHNGB/SL.OPE 

PLOT ftP, BP:DRftWTO OP+CHNGO, 95 

DMH=PEEK<89) s POKE 89, DMH+15 

IF XP=ftP THEN CHNGX=0:GOTO 32050 

CHNGY-YP-96:CHNGX-CHNGY/SL0PE 

PLOT XP-CHNGX, O: DROWTO XP, YP-96 

POKE 89, DMH 



32070 ftP»XP:BP-YPs RETURN 
32500 DftTfi 104,165,87,201,8,240,1,98 
32510 DftTft 169,7,133,87,173,48,2,133 
32520 DftTfi 203, 173, 49, 2, 133, 204, 160, 
32530 DfiTfl 177,203,201,79,208,10,169,78 
32540 DftTfi 145,203,200,200,200,24,144,240 
32550 DfiTfi 201,15,208,4,169,14,145,203 
32560 DfiTfi 200,192,199,208,227,96 



LJstMg3. 

10 RESTORE 

20 FOR X-O TO 53: READ fi 

30 POKE 1536+X, fiiNEXT X 

40 GRAPHICS 8+16: X=USR< 1536) 

50 COLOR 2 

60 FOR X-0 TO 159 STEP 3 

70 XP=SO: YP-96 :60SUB 30000 

80 XP-X:YP=0:GOSUB 31000 

90 XP-80: YP-96 :GOSUB 30000 

lOO XP-179-X:YP=191 iGOSUB 31000 

HO NEXT X 

120 COLOR 3 

130 FOR Y-191 TO STEP -3 

140 XP-SO: YP-96 iGOSUB 30OO0 

150 XP»0:YP-Y:GOSUB 31000 

160 XP-BO: YP-96 :GOSUB 30000 

170 XP-159: YP-191-Y:G0SUB 31000 

ISO NEXT Y:COLOR 1 

190 FOR X-0 TO 159 STEP 3 

195 XP»X:YP=0:GOSUB 30000 

200 XP-159:YP-X*(191/159) : GOSUB 31000 

210 XP-159-X:YP=191 :GOSUB 30000 

220 XP-0:YP=<159-X)«<191/159) :GOSUB 31000 

230 NEXT X 

240 GOTO 240 



Put your I slave to work now! 



HCTONONt RnxJJruo ^scnoNrwu 

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IBM IMAGES 



The view from Windows/Will Fastie 



I consider myself lucky to have obtained 
an early, pre-release copy of Microsoft 
Windows. Although it has been my 
normal policy not to review software be- 
fore it is in final release, I am making an 
exception for Windows because I so re- 
cently covered competing products 
(IBM's TopView and Digital Research's 
GEM, in last month's column). I also be- 
lieve that few significant changes will be 
made in the basic product before it hits 
the retail shelves (about the time you 
read this, according to Microsoft), so I 
feel confident in telling you about the 
product. By the way, I asked Microsoft if 
they had any objections to this early arti- 
cle and they said no, indicating their con- 
fidence as well. Microsoft did ask that I 
keep in mind that there might be changes 
in the final product; you'll have to bear 
that in mind, too. 

Last month I defined environment 
as the way in which the operating system 
presents itself and its functions to the 
user. I pointed out that TopView and 
GEM are nothing more than DOS pro- 
grams, but that they so alter the way the 
user interacts with the system that they 
are environments unto themselves. This 
definition is apt for Microsoft Windows 
(hereinafter simply Windows); however, 
this program integrates with DOS much 
more effectively and much more success- 
fully than either TopView or GEM. At 
the same time, it is a significant func- 
tional extension of DOS and a concur- 
rent environment. 

Windows requires an IBM PC or 
compatible, at least 256K. of memory, 
disk drives, and a graphics display. More 
memory, a hard disk, and a mouse are 
optional. Windows is at its best, how- 
ever, with as much memory as you can 
give it, a hard disk or, at the very least, a 
large RAM disk, and a mouse. I am un- 
clear about support for the Lotus/Intel 
memory spec, but because Windows can 
take advantage of a RAM disk of any 
kind, an investment in a memory prod- 
uct in the Above Board genre will not be 
wasted on Windows. I expect that future 
upgrades to Windows will allow pro- 
grams to execute from Lotus/Intel ex- 
tended memory or the protected memo- 
ry of the 286 processor, such as is found 
in the AT. 

The graphic display is an absolute 
requirement, and Windows is obsessive 
about control in this area. I was unable to 
run any program in Windows that 




hard disk or larger RAM 
disk is very important to give 
Windows the peppy 
performance that makes using 
the mouse pointing system 
effective. 



switched to my monochrome display, a 
fact that caused me to exit Windows 
when I was doing extensive textual 
work. Windows even traps the mode 
command! Those are objections to the 
product, but ones that can be overcome if 
your PC is equipped with the IBM EGA 
or the Hercules card. Both offer better 
performance and monochrome display- 
like resolution for text, so text work on 
them is satisfactory. IBM's EGA and 
CGA, and the Hercules card, are the 
only graphics devices supported; expect 
more from Microsoft soon. 

Windows on the IBM CGA or 
equivalent is surprisingly good in two 
dimensions. First, it is very fast. The only 
performance penalty is text scrolling, 
which is agonizing when compared to 
the monochrome display. Scrolling is 
happening as fast as it can; remember 
that Windows is doing all the character 
generation itself on a graphical display 



that it completely manages. Second, the 
CGA display is very pretty. Windows 
can display only black and white, but it 
does so very well, and the higher 640 x 
200 resolution provides the necessary 
clarity. 

I have the EGA with extended 
memory on my office AT. There, Win- 
dows looks absolutely gorgeous and can 
take full advantage of color. Because 
EGA text is almost as good as mono- 
chrome, I stay within Windows all the 
time. At home, with a dual monochrome 
and CGA system, I exit Windows to use 
the word processor. In my case, the im- 
portant factor is text, not the quality of 
the graphics presentation. That leads to 
the question of how to upgrade an exist- 
ing PC to take advantage of Windows. I 
suggest the Hercules card, because it is 
the least expensive way to get higher 
resolution: you need purchase only the 
card, not a new display device. There are 
other monochrome boards on the mar- 
ket, but Microsoft has not announced 
support for them; this means that higher 
resolutions might go unexploited even if 
Windows could operate in a CGA-com- 
patible mode. Some of these boards are 
Hercules-compatible and would prob- 
ably work. 

I suspect that Microsoft will offer 
more options by the time the product ar- 
rives in the retail channel. I also expect 
that the manufacturers of other boards 
will provide their customers with a Win- 
dows device driver; such drivers can be 
added to the Windows master disk and 
can then be automatically activated by 
the Windows installation process. 

As for disk storage, floppies do not 
support Windows very well. A hard disk 
or larger RAM disk is very important to 
give Windows the peppy performance 
that makes using the mouse pointing sys- 
tem effective. On a RAM disk, the Win- 
dows program and other commonly 
used programs should be stored there, 
although it should also be possible to 
load programs into the Windows envi- 
ronment, remove the floppy from 
whence they came, and let the system 
swap programs from memory to RAM 
disk as required. Programs that are over- 
laid (i.e., have other files that the pro- 
gram loads or uses as required during the 
course of execution) must be present on 
accessible media while executing. 

You might be surprised that I men- 
tion a mouse as optional. Frankly, Win- 



114 CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 




dows is better (most of the time) with a 
mouse than without. The human inter- 
face from the keyboard is excellent, 
though— far better than that of Top- 
View. There are, however, times when I 
resort to the keyboard for some 
manipulations because they are quicker. 
Study of a small section of the manual 
will result in keyboard proficiency, 
which is worth learning. 

The only tedious part of the key- 
board interface is making menu selec- 
tions from the menu bar at the top of the 
screen. For a bar with three menu selec- 
tions, there is no problem. But for a Win- 
dows program with eight or ten menus, 
using the tab key to move to the eighth 
one becomes time-consuming. So I sug- 
gest a mouse anyway. One final point: 
the use of the mouse or keyboard can be 
transparent to the executing program. 
For example, Microsoft supplies a sam- 
ple program called Reversi (known more 
popularly as Othello). The game can be 
played faster with the mouse, but quite 
well with the keyboard. According to 
Microsoft, the program is not aware of 
the physical method of pointing being 
used. 

Microsoft provided me with drivers 
for their own mice, and for the Mouse 
Systems PC Mouse. 

The Interface 

Windows presents itself to the user 
in much the same way that a Macintosh 
does. In fact, most of theelementsof Mac 
are in Windows, even when the visual 
image is not quite the same. There are 
three components of this interface: the 
menu bar, the icon area, and the working 
screen. 

The top of the screen has the menu 
bar from which pull-down menus are ob- 



tained and selec- 
tions made. This is 
the main way in 
which things hap- 
pen: the user points 
to the function de- 
sired and it is per- 
formed. The menu 
is applications sen- 
sitive, and saying 
any more than that 
the menus pull down 
requires a specific 
application context. 
Some special areas 
above the menu bar 
provide shortcuts: 
you can quickly ter- 
minate the program, 
suspend it. resize the window, or make 
the active window assume the full screen. 
At the bottom of the display is the 
icon area, which contains the icons for 
programs that do not have an active win- 
dow. Such programs may be suspended 
(that is, not running) or active (the pro- 
gram continues to execute even though 
something else is going on in the active 
window). When more than one program 
runs at the same time, the system is said 
to be concurrent. 

Windows provides concurrency for 
programs written to be Windows-com- 
pliant, but cannot control execution of 
programs that do not obey the multitask- 
ing rules. Windows can also run more 
than one copy of a program at the same 
time regardless of compliance with the 
rules and as long as the program could 
have done that anyway. 

A word of explanation on that is 
needed. Some programs make tem- 
porary "scratch" files. If the program al- 
ways uses the same name for the scratch 
files, then two programs running at the 
same time will collide. WordPerfect, the 
word processing program I use, has pre- 
cisely this problem. Many other pro- 
grams are sure to as well. However, the 
good news is that a simple program 
change is all that is required to fix the 
problem. 

Microsoft provides a program 
called Clock which displays an analog 
clock on the screen. Concurrency can be 
quickly demonstrated by starting more 
than one clock and giving each one a 
window on the screen. Each clock runs, 
meaning that Windows is switching 
control back and forth within the pro- 
gram. 

You can point to one of the icons to 
activate a window in which to view the 
action of its program. The window is 



"opened" in the large working area of 
the screen between the menu bar and the 
icon area. More than one window may be 
active at a time, and Microsoft has cho- 
sen to "tile" its windows. That means 
that the windows do not overlap one an- 
other, but instead butt against one an- 
other. It is my opinion that this is a small 
point. However, it should be noted that 
overlapping windows allow you to size 
each window as appropriate for your 
applications, while tiling tends to force 
you to have the primary window sized 
properly, thus limiting other windows to 
the remaining space on the screen. Prac- 
tically speaking, I think users are un- 
likely to have multiple windows showing 
as a general rule and are much more 
likely to switch from application to 
application on a full-screen basis. Get- 
ting an application from its icon to the 
full screen is quite fast and, therefore, 
practical. 

Windows includes a program called 
the Control panel which can be used to 
set various system parameters. One con- 
trol area is the color selections for the 
display. You can select a display color 
(on the CGA, various shades of black 
and white) for each component of the 
screen. This works very nicely on the 
EGA; careful selection of color truly en- 
hances the presentation. One example: I 
changed the color of text from black to 
blue, which I find easier to look at on a 
white background. These kinds of 
changes can be made at any time, are 
permanent, and take immediate effect. 

Overall Performance 

I have mentioned several times that 
Windows seems to perform very well. 
The point should be clearly made: over- 
all, Windows is a better performer than 
either TopView or GEM. It is not, how- 
ever, a better performer than DOS, and 
that requires a little explanation. 

First, programs will not run faster 
under Windows. They will run at about 
the same speed as they do without Win- 
dows, which is something of an accomp- 
lishment. In an environment tha* 
supports multi-tasking, some CPU re- 
sources must be given up to manage the 
system. Windows seems to have given up 
very little, and that is good. It is possible 
that throughput for a particular program 
will fall if other programs are running 
concurrently, but that is to be expected. 

Second, Windows gets programs 
running faster than GEM or TopView — 
at least by my measurements. But, DOS 
is faster. There is obviously some over- 
head within Windows that is not present 



VOLUME 1 1 NUMBER 10/CREATIVE COMPUTING 115 



IBM IMAGES 



when a command is typed to DOS. Win- 
dows does look for more information 
than DOS; for example, it hopes to find a 
program information file (PIF) that de- 
scribes the operational parameters for 
the program. In fact, a PIFmwsfbeavail- 
able for programs which expect to run 
concurrently or which are fully Win- 
dows-compliant. If no PIF is found, 
Windows assumes the worst case: a pro- 
gram that writes directly to the screen 
and from which Windows cannot be 
accessed. 

Once in the MS-DOS Executive sec- 
tion of Windows, many operations are 
faster than their DOS counterparts. My 
favorites are copy and delete, both of 
which work with multiple files. From the 
list of files on the screen, a set can be 
marked and all will be deleted or copied. 
Attempts to copy a directory work, in 
that the directory and its contents are 
copied, a sorely-needed improvement 
over other systems. The speed improve- 
ment here comes from avoidance of typ- 
ing multiple commands in DOS, not 
from speedier execution of the code 
itself. 



MS-DOS Executive 

A place Windows excels is the MS- 
DOS Executive. In this window, the sys- 
tem displays icons for each disk drive, 
the name and volume label of the cur- 
rently selected disk, the current path, 
and the names of all files and subdirec- 
tories in the current directory. Navigat- 
ing around the directory structure on a 
hard disk, by which I mean changing 
from one to another, is very quick when 
the mouse is used, and Microsoft has in- 
troduced a number of clever shortcuts. 
For example, clicking on a part of the 
displayed path (for example, UTIL in 
\UTIL\COMM\XTALK) will cause 
an immediate change to that directory. 
Double-clicking on the names of one of 
the subdirectories, which are always 
listed first, causes a switch to that direc- 
tory. Double-clicking on a .BAT, .COM, 
or .EXE file causes it to execute. 

Another clever innovation is that 
the program can be instructed about 
filename extensions and told to execute a 
certain program when a file having such 
an extension is clicked. I call my working 
manuscripts .MAN; a click there in- 



vokes WordPerfect. Neat, and quite fast. 
I've told Windows about quite a few pro- 
grams, and it saves a lot of time. By the 
way, that feature requires modifications 
to a text file named WIN.INI, the initial- 
ization file for Windows. I mention this 
because it is not immediately obvious 
from the documentation. Make edits 
carefully: this file contains many other 
initialization parameters, including 
things set from the control panel. 

Overall Impressions 

There is far too little space here to 
give a full review or examination of a 
product that will surely command much 
press attention in coming months. I like 
Windows and want to use it — a state- 
ment I could not make about the major 
competitors even though I have spent 
much time with each. But how good is 
Windows as a user interface? That's a 
hard question to answer. 

How about this question: does Will 
Fastie use Windows? Answer: Yes. But I 
don't yet start it automatically — I'm still 
a bit tied to the command line interface. 
Time will tell. ■ 



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CIRCLE 141 ON READER SERVICE CARD 

lid CREATIVE COMPUTING/OCTOBER 1985 



Applied Engineering 49 
Apricot, Inc. 12, 13 

ATARI Corp 14, 15 

Baudville 22 

BRS Information 
Technologies 4 

California Micro House 

44 
Commodore 37 

CompuServe Infor- 
mation Services 24, 25 
Computer Information 
Limited 113 

Computer Mail 
Order 86, 

Davidson & Asso- 
ciates, Inc. 
Educational Software 
Dow Jones 
Eastern Software 
Distributors, Inc 
Electronic Software 
Publishing 41 

Epyx 116 

Hayes Microcomputer 
Products. Inc. Cov 2&1 
1 12 Heath Company 64 

114 Houston Instrument 21 
159 Interstate Computer 

Bank 109 

115 Infocom 32, 33 

116 Infocom 57 



101 
107 
104 
103 

102 



105 



140 



108 



110 



106 
139 

111 

141 
113 



87 



5 
31 

58 



130 Inmac 95 

117 JS&A 7 

118 JS&A 11 

1 19 Lyco Computer 96, 97 

120 MECA 66-69 

122 MECC Club 61 
162 Nibble Notch 107 

• NRI Schools 17-19 

131 Precision Data 
Products 95 

123 Protecto 43 

121 Quinsept, Inc. 109 

124 Radio Shack 52, 53 

125 Ring King Visibles 36 

126 Sanyo Cov. 4 

127 Scarborough 
Systems 23 

128 Sensible Software . 

Inc. 9 

Source 91 

138 Spectrum Holobyte 2 

132 Springboard Soft- 
ware 45 

174 Sublogic Corp. 81 

133 Sublogic Corp 63 
'158 Tecmar 55 

154 Topaz Cov. 3 

134 Weekly Reader 
Family Software 65 

129 Xerox Corporation 39 
Yamaha Inter- 
national 82, 83 



St*** 



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Please indicate which of the following microcomputers you cur- 
rently own and/or plan to buy in the next year. Then, for each one 
that you plan to buy, please indicate when this purchase will most 
likely be made. 





1. Own 


2. Plan to Buy 






1-6 months 


7-12 months 


IBM PC or compatible 


A. 


L. 


w. 


Apple II Series (II, lie, lie) 


B. 


M. 


X. 


Apple Macintosh 


C. 


N. 


Y. 


Commodore 64 or 128 


0. 


P. 


Z. 


Commodore Amiga 


E. 


Q. 


1. 


Atari XL, XE. ST 


F. 


R. 


2. 


Tandy/Radio Shack 


G. 


S. 


3. 


Any Laptop/portable 


H. 


T. 


4. 


Other (specify) 


J. 


U. 


S. 


None 


K. 


V. 


6. 



Please indicate which of the following peripherals you plan to buy 
either in the next 6 months or in the next 7-12 months. 



Hard disk drive 



Dot matrix printer 



Daisy wheel printer 



Plotter 



Monitor 



Modem 



Power protection device 



3. Plan to Buy 



14 tDonths 



10. 



11. 



12. 



13. 



14. 



15. 



16 



17. 



18 



19 



20. 



READER SERVICE CARD 



Creative Comput 

101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 1101111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130|l31 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 1501151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 | l91 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 



201 202 
221 222 
241 242 
261 262 

281 282 



301 302 
321 322 
341 342 
361 362 
381382 



203 204 
223 224 
243 244 
263 264 

283 284 



401 402 
421 422 
441 442 
461 462 
481 482 



303 304 
323 324 
343 344 
363 364 

383 384 



205 206 207 
225 226 227 
245 246 247 
265 266 267 
285 286 28 7 



403 404 
423 424 
443 444 
463 464 
483 484 



305 306 307 
325 326 327 
345 346 347 
365 366 367 
385 386 387 
405 406 407 
425 426 427 
445 446 447 
465 466 467 
485 486 487 



208 209 
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248 249 
268 269 

288 289 



2101211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 
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290. 291292293 294295296 297 298299300 



308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 
328 329 330 331 332 333334335336 337 338339340 
348 349 350351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 
368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 
388 389 390 ,391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 
408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 
428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 
448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 
468 469 4701471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 
488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 
Void after December 31. 1985 



4. Where do you use a computer? 
21. Business 22. □ Home 23. 1 I School 

5. How many computers do you own? 

24. 1 i 1 25. CJ 2-3 D 26. D 3 or more 

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY— Use only one card per person 

NAME PHONE # ( )_ 

COMPANY TITLE 



CC10852 



ADDRESS. 
CITY 



.APT.. 



_STATE_ 



.ZIP. 



(Zip code must be included to insure delivery.) 

6. D Please send me one year (12 issues of Creative Computing for $12.97 
and bill me. (Full one-year subscription price $24.97). 



Please indicate which of the following microcomputers you cur- 
rently own and/or plan to buy in the next year. Then, for each one 
that you plan to buy, please indicate when this purchase will most 
likely be made. 





LOwn 


2. Plan to Buy 






K months 


7-12 months 


IBM PC or compatible 


A. 


L. 


w. 


Apple II Series (II, lie. lie) 


B. 


M. 


X. 


Apple Macintosh 


C. 


N. 


Y. 


Commodore 64 or 128 


D. 


P. 


z. 


Commodore Amiga 


E. 


Q. 


1. 


Atari XL. XE, ST 


F. 


R. 


2. 


Tandy/Radio Shack 


G. 


S. 


3. 


Any Laptop/portable 


H. 


T. 


4. 


Other (specify) 


J. 


U. 


5. 


None 


K. 


V. 


6. 



Please indicate which of the following peripherals you plan to buy 
either in the next 6 months or in the next 7-12 months. 



Hard disk drive 



Dot matrix printer 



Daisy wheel printer 
Plotter 



Monitor 



Modem 



Power protection device 



3. Plan to Buy 



10 



11. 



12. 



13. 



7-12 



14. 



15. 



16. 



17. 



18 



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203 204 
223 224 
243 244 
263 264 

283 284 



105 106 107 
125 126 127 
145 146 147 
165 166 167 
185 186 187 



301 302 
321 322 
341 342 
361 362 
381 382 



303 304 
323 324 
343 344 
363 364 
383 384 



205 206 207 
225 226 227 
245 246 247 
265 266 267 
285 28 6 287 
305 306 307 
325 326 327 
345 346 347 
365 366 367 
385 386 387 



106 109 
128 129 
148 149 
168 169 
188 189 



208 209 
228 229 
248 249 
268 269 
288 289 



112 113 
132 133 
152 153 
172 173 

192 193 



210 211 
2301231 
250|251 
270 271 
290,291 



308 309 
328 329 
348 349 
368 369 
388 389 3901391 



1310 
I 330 
I 350 
i 370 



212 213 
232 233 
252 253 
272 273 
292 293 



114 115 116 117 118 
134 135 136 137 138 
154 155 156 157 158 
174 175 176 177 178 
194 195 196 197 198 



312 313 
332 333 
352 353 
372 373 
392 393 



214 215 216 217 218 
234 235 236 237 238 
254 255 256 257 258 
274 275 276 277 278 

294 295 296 297 298 



119 120 
139 140 
159 160 
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199 200 



314 315 316 317 318 
334 335 336 337 338 
354 355 356 357 358 
374 375 376 377 378 
394 3 95 396 397 398 



219 220 
239 240 
259 260 
279 280 
299 300 



319 320 
339 340 
359 360 
379 380 

399 400 



401 402 
421 422 
441 442 
461 462 
481 482 



403 404 
423 424 
443 444 
463 464 
483 484 



405 406 407 
425 426 427 
445 446 447 
465 466 467 
485 486 487 



40B409 
428 429 
448 449 
468 469 
488 489 



4101411 
430 431 
4501451 
4701471 
490 491 



412 413 
432 433 
452 453 
472 473 
492 493 



414 415 416 417 418 
434 435 436 437 438 
454 455 456 457 458 
474 475 476 477 478 
494 495 496 497 498 
Void after December 



4. Where do you use a computer? 
21. D Business 22. 1 I Home 23. [ I School 

5. How many computers do you own? 

24. U 1 25. M 2-3 □ 26. D3ormore 

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY— Use only one card per person 

NAME PHONE # ( )_ 

COMPANY TITLE 



419 420 
439 440 
459 460 
479 480 
499 500 
31. 1985 



CC10851 



ADDRESS 
CITY 



JVPT. 



.STATE. 



-ZIP- 



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CIRCLE 154 ON READER SERVICE CARD 



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Introducing tin 
iext great American sue 



The Japanese seem to have a knack for taking an 
existing product and improving it. Making it. faster. 
Or more powerful. Or building in more features for 
the money. 

Now, Sanyo has done the same thing with com- 
puters. A new line of personal computers with maxi- 
mum PC compatibility. 

The MBC-775 has a built-in 9" color monitor and 
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And you'll be hard pressed to find a 
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MBC-675. 

While Sanyo's MBC-885 
family of desktop computers 
are among the most versatile, pow- 
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cessing on the MBC-775 and MBC-885. While every 
model comes with dual 360K floppy disk drives, 256K 
of RAM (expandable to 640K), parallel printer inter- 
face, and the capability to drive both color and mono- 
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As for options, there are Sanyo's hard disk 
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monitors. All built by Sanyo to take 
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So call 1-800-524-0047 to 
find out where you can 
- interface with the next great 
American success story: the 
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Sanyo Business Systems Corpcxation *: 





Sanyo Business Systems Corporation. 51 Joseph Street. Moonachie. NJ 07074 (201) 440-9300 
CIRCLE 126 ON READER SERVICE CARD